Development of narrow-linewidth diode lasers by use of volume holographic transmission gratings

We present two diode laser setups that employ volume holographic transmission gratings to provide optical feedback. The advantage of this kind of grating is high diffraction efficiency and the possibility to place optical elements on both sides of the grating. This allows for advanced external cavities and adjustable feedback efficiency. The first setup is a diode laser in the Littman configuration with the transmission grating replacing the conventional reflection grating. The second setup improves the frequency selectivity by substituting the feedback mirror with a passive resonator. This grating-enhanced external cavity diode laser (GECDL) achieves excellent frequency stability. A prototype of the GECDL setup demonstrates an intrinsic linewidth of 7 kHz and an operation range that covers the full amplification profile of the laser diode.     

Generation of 10-GHz ultra-short pulses with low time jitter in an actively mode-locked fiber laser

We have experimentally achieved the 8.3-ps ultra-short pulse at 10 GHz repetition rate with the time jitter as low as 590 fs in an actively mode-locked fiber ring laser. The ring-cavity laser is mode-locked by a semiconductor optical amplifier based on cross-gain modulation. The external CW source is modulated with radio frequency signal by an amplitude modulator as the external optical pulses and, then, injected into the fiber ring cavity to achieve active mode locking. Further investigating the laser output characteristics, it indicates that the linewidth of employed CW source affects properties of the generated ultra-short pulse, such as phase noise and time jitter. Ultra-short pulse at high repetition rate with low time jitter can be generated by the optimization of CW laser source.     

Frequency stabilised grating feedback laser diode for atom cooling applications

The free running linewidth of an external cavity grating feedback diode laser is on the order of a few megahertz and is limited by the mechanical and acoustic vibrations of the external cavity. Such frequency fluctuations can be removed by electronic feedback. We present a hybrid stabilisation technique that uses both a Fabry–Perot confocal cavity and an atomic resonance to achieve excellent short and long term frequency stability. The system has been shown to reduce the laser linewidth of an external cavity diode laser by an order of magnitude to 140 kHz, while limiting frequency excursions to 60 kHz relative to an absolute reference over periods of several hours. The scheme also presents a simple way to frequency offset two lasers many gigahertz apart which should find a use in atom cooling experiments, where hyperfine ground-state frequency separations are often required.     

Recent advances in laser self-injection locking to high-Q microresonators

The stabilization and manipulation of laser frequency by means of an external cavity are nearly ubiquitously used in fundamental research and laser applications. While most of the laser light transmits through the cavity, in the presence of some back-scattered light from the cavity to the laser, the self-injection locking effect can take place, which locks the laser emission frequency to the cavity mode of similar frequency. The self-injection locking leads to dramatic reduction of laser linewidth and noise. Using this approach, a common semiconductor laser locked to an ultrahigh-Q microresonator can obtain sub-Hertz linewidth, on par with state-of-the-art fiber lasers. Therefore it paves the way to manufacture high-performance semiconductor lasers with reduced footprint and cost. Moreover, with high laser power, the optical nonlinearity of the microresonator drastically changes the laser dynamics, offering routes for simultaneous pulse and frequency comb generation in the same microresonator. Particularly, integrated photonics technology, enabling components fabricated via semiconductor CMOS process, has brought increasing and extending interest to laser manufacturing using this method. In this article, we present a comprehensive tutorial on analytical and numerical methods of laser self-injection locking, as well a review of most recent theoretical and experimental achievements.     

Wideband tunable laser phase noise reduction using single sideband modulation in an electro-optical feed-forward scheme

A wideband laser phase noise reduction scheme is introduced where the optical field of a laser is single sideband modulated with an electrical signal containing the discriminated phase noise of the laser. The proof-of-concept experiments on a commercially available 1549 nm distributed feedback laser show linewidth reduction from 7.5 MHz to 1.8 kHz without using large optical cavity resonators. This feed-forward scheme performs wideband phase noise cancellation independent of the light source and, as such, it is compatible with the original laser source tunability without requiring tunable optical components. By placing the proposed phase noise reduction system after a commercial tunable laser, a tunable coherent light source with kilohertz linewidth over a tuning range of 1530-1570 nm is demonstrated.     

用于光频传递的通信波段窄线宽激光器研制及应用

通信波段窄线宽激光器在基于光纤的光学频率传递中有着重要应用. 本文报道了1550 nm超窄线宽光纤激光器的研制及其在光学频率传递中的初步应用结果. 利用一台激光光源, 分别锁定到两个参考腔上(精细度分别为344000和296000), 锁定后经拍频比对测得单台激光线宽优于1.9 Hz, 秒级频率稳定度为1.7×10^-14, 优于国内同类报道. 将研制的超窄线宽激光器用于光纤光学频率传递, 在50 km光纤盘上实现了 7.5×10^-17/s的传递稳定度, 较采用商用光纤激光器提高了3.2倍.     

利用钟跃迁谱线测量超稳光学参考腔的零温漂点

在87Sr光晶格钟实验系统中,通过将自由运转的698 nm激光频率锁定在由超低膨胀系数的玻璃材料构成的超稳光学参考腔上,从而获得短期频率稳定性较好的超稳窄线宽激光.超稳光学参考腔的腔长稳定性决定了最终激光频率的稳定度.为了降低腔长对温度的敏感性,使激光频率具有更好的稳定度和更小的频率漂移,利用锶原子光晶格钟的钟跃迁谱线,测量了698 nm超稳窄线宽激光系统中超稳光学参考腔的零温漂点.通过对钟跃迁谱线中心频率随温度的变化曲线进行二阶多项式拟合,得到698 nm超稳窄线宽激光系统的零温漂点为30.63℃.利用锶原子光晶格钟的闭环锁定,测得零温漂点处698 nm超稳窄线宽激光系统的线性频率漂移率为0.15 Hz/s,频率不稳定度为1.6×10^–15@3.744 s.     

Analytical expressions for the intensity and frequency noise of an individual mode in a multimode semiconductor laser with external optical feedback

Analytical expressions are derived for the intensity and frequency noise of each individual mode in a multimode semiconductor laser with external optical feedback. It is shown that in a two-mode laser the side-mode effect on the intensity noise is enhanced by the optical feedback which gives the maximum linewidth narrowing.     

光梳主动滤波放大实现锶原子光钟二级冷却光源

提出一种结合注入锁定技术的主动滤波放大方法,将光梳直接注入锁定至光栅外腔半导体激光器,产生窄线宽激光光源,该光源可以用于锶原子光钟二级冷却.实验中,将中心波长为689 nm,带宽为10 nm的光梳种子光源注入689 nm光栅式外腔半导体激光器,通过半导体增益光谱与半导体光栅外腔,从飞秒光梳的多个纵模梳齿中挑选出一个纵模模式来进行增益放大,再通过模式竞争,实现单纵模连续光输出;同时,光梳的重复频率锁定在线宽为赫兹量级的698 nm超稳激光光源上,因此,注入锁定后输出的窄线宽激光也继承了超稳激光光源的光谱特性.利用得到的输出功率为12 mW的689 nm窄线宽激光光源实现了88Sr原子光钟的二级冷却过程,最终获得温度为3μK,原子数约为5×10~6的冷原子团.该方法可拓展至原子光钟其他光源的获得,从而实现原子光钟的集成化和小型化.     

95 GHz millimeter wave signal generation using an arrayed waveguide grating dual wavelength semiconductor laser

We report the generation of a 95?GHz carrier frequency by optical heterodyning of two wavelengths from adjacent channels from an arrayed waveguide grating-based multiwavelength laser. The extended cavity structure of the device provides low phase noise and narrow optical linewidth, further enhanced by the intracavity filter effect of the arrayed waveguide grating. We demonstrate that the generated RF beat note, at 95?GHz, has a -3 dB linewidth of 250?kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the narrowest RF linewidth generated from a free-running dual-wavelength semiconductor laser. The device is realized as a photonic integrated circuit using active-passive integration technology, and fabricated on a multiproject wafer run, constituting a novel approach for a compact, low-cost dual-wavelength heterodyne source.     

Locking lasers with large FM noise to high-Q cavities

We demonstrate that a laser can be directly locked to a cavity when the laser linewidth is much greater than the cavity linewidth. We lock an external-cavity diode laser with more than 1 MHz of added frequency noise to a 3.5 kHz wide cavity resonance. Our analog servo acquires lock even though the laser frequency sweeps through the cavity resonance in less than the cavity buildup time. Our theoretical analysis fully describes our measurements and explains why lock can be acquired.     

Noise properties of an optical frequency comb from a SESAM-mode-locked 1.5-μm solid-state laser stabilized to the 10?13 level

We present a detailed investigation of the noise properties of an optical frequency comb generated from a femtosecond diode-pumped solid-state laser operating in the 1.5-??m spectral region. The stabilization of the passively mode-locked Er:Yb:glass laser oscillator, referred to as ERGO, is achieved using pump power modulation for the control of the carrier envelope offset (CEO) frequency and by adjusting the laser cavity length for the control of the repetition rate. The stability and the noise of the ERGO comb are characterized in free-running and in phase-locked operation by measuring the noise properties of the CEO, of the repetition rate, and of a comb line at 1558?nm. The comb line is analyzed from the heterodyne beat signal with a cavity-stabilized ultra-narrow-linewidth laser using a frequency discriminator. Two different schemes to stabilize the comb to a radio-frequency (RF) reference are compared. The comb properties (phase noise, frequency stability) are limited in both cases by the RF oscillator used to stabilize the repetition rate, while the contribution of the CEO is negligible at all Fourier frequencies, as a consequence of the low-noise characteristics of the CEO-beat. A?linewidth of ??150?kHz and a fractional frequency instability of 4.2×10^?13 at 1?s are obtained for an optical comb line at 1558?nm. Improved performance is obtained by stabilizing the comb to an optical reference, which is a cavity-stabilized ultra-narrow linewidth laser at 1558?nm. The fractional frequency stability of 8×10^?14 at 1?s, measured in preliminary experiments, is limited by the reference oscillator used in the frequency comparison.     

低噪声光纤激光器的实验研究

光传感和光通信领域的迅速发展迫切需要相位噪声和强度噪声都很低的激光光源,为满足这一需求,设计出一种新型低噪声光纤激光器。激光器采用复合腔结构,以掺铒光纤作为工作物质,通过在未被抽运的掺铒光纤中形成的瞬态自写入光纤光栅的窄带滤波特性进行选模和压窄线宽,产生稳定的单频激光输出;经过光路改进,激光输出光谱信噪比优于62 dB;利用光电负反馈电路,弛豫振荡峰下降了约25 dB,低频段强度噪声也大为改善,有效地抑制了光源的强度噪声。激光器的输出光功率大于1 dBm,线宽小于1 kHz,边模抑制比超过50 dB。优异的低噪声特性使得该激光器在光传感和光通信领域具有重要的应用价值。     

Octave spanning tunable frequency comb from a microresonator

We report the generation of an octave-spanning optical frequency comb in a continuous wave laser pumped microresonator. The generated comb spectrum covers the wavelength range from 990 to 2170 nm without relying on additional external broadening. Continuous tunability of the generated frequency comb over more than an entire free spectral range is demonstrated. Moreover, the linewidth of individual optical comb components and its relation to the pump laser phase noise is studied. The ability to derive octave-spanning spectra from microresonator comb generators represents a key step towards f-2f self-referencing of microresonator-based optical frequency combs.     

Analysis of the spectral linewidth of three-cavity semiconductor laser diodes

The spectral linewidth for a semiconductor laser diode coupled to two external cavities (known as a three-cavity laser diode) is studied in the article. A closed-form expression for the linewidth of this laser is derived by analyzing the number of photons in the laser cavity. It is found that, because of the optical feedback provided by the external cavities, the photon lifetime becomes longer than that of a solitary Fabry-Perot (FP) laser, hence reducing the value of the spectral linewidth. Our theoretical investigations reveal that the linewidth of a three-cavity laser can be reduced further by using external mirrors with high reflectivities and using anti-refection (AR) coatings on the laser diode facets. We have also studied the effects of uncertainties in the linewidth enhancement factor a due to optical feedback and found that such uncertainties have negligible effects on the validity of our results.     

F-P腔不同扫频段透射谱锁频精度实验

针对窄线宽激光器输出谱线窄,难以被锁定的情况,利用F-P腔特有极窄线宽、高精细度特性对激光器谱线线宽实施压窄及频率锁定。通过设计实验方案并搭建锁频测试平台,利用F-P腔外部光反馈将窄线宽半导体激光器线宽压窄来提高锁频精度。通过监测正弦波调制下F-P腔对于4种不同直流电压下激光PZT扫频段的透射谱线,并对其分别进行解调和锁频精度测试,得到直流高压放大器电压为73 V时对窄线宽激光器进行扫频,激光器反馈锁频精度最高可达1.5 MHz。     

Analysis of performance of RFS-based optical comb influenced by linewidth of laser source

The laser source is an important element whose properties have influence on the output performance of single sideband(SSB) optical comb based on recirculating frequency shifter(RFS).The theoretical and experimental results show that the tone-to-noise ratio(TNR),flatness,and stability of optical comb improve using laser source with narrower linewidth.In order to obtain the optical comb with TNR larger than 42 dB and degree of stability(DOS) smaller than-6.7 dB,external cavity laser(ECL) with linewidth from 100 kHz to 1 MHz is a trade-off choice.     

高斯白噪声相位调制的激光光谱展宽

激光器是现代光学中一种常用的光源,分析其谱宽特性对于激光的研究具有重要意义.由于高性能窄线宽激光的半高全宽通常在几十M Hz以内,难以直接满足宽光谱领域的应用需求,因而无法发挥其在成本和性能方面的优势,这在一定程度上限制了激光的发展.如果在激光内部直接进行调制实现线宽展宽,又会导致频率的严重漂移,破坏稳频特性.为了在激...     

基于自制超稳定F-P腔压窄632.8nm外腔半导体激光线宽的实验研究

窄线宽激光由于其具有单色性好、稳定度高、相干长度长等优点,广泛应用于光电检测领域,包括相干通信、精密测量、光学频率标准、吸收光谱计量以及光与物质相互作用研究等。目前频率稳定的氦氖激光器线宽可以达到MHz量级,分布反馈式（DFB）光纤激光器线宽可达kHz量级,DFB半导体激光器线宽可以达到MHz量级,然而光栅反馈半导体激光器可以实现百kHz量级线宽的输出。为了进一步压窄各类激光器线宽,需要通过反馈控制技术来锁定激光到某一频率参考。该研究将自行设计的超稳腔作为频率参考,实现了632.8 nm外腔半导体激光器（ECDL）线宽的有效压窄。本窄线宽激光产生系统的研制包括超稳腔设计、光路设计、ECDL频率控制以及系统集成。超稳腔采用两镜法布里-珀罗腔（F-P腔）结构,腔体是膨胀系数约为10-6 K-1的微晶玻璃,腔镜为一对反射率达99.988 5%(±0.003 5%）的平面镜和凹面镜。为进一步减小外界环境对F-P腔腔长的影响,需要对腔体进行温度控制,本系统采用四片总功率为96 W的半导体制冷片以及水冷散热设计。同时为了降低声音和空气流动对腔模频率的影响,将F-P腔置于真空度为10-5 torr的真空室中;另外为了有效隔振,腔体与真空室用硅橡胶材料隔离。该系统采用的ECDL为德国Toptica公司的DL pro系列激光器,其具有压电陶瓷（PZT）和电流调制两个频率控制端,响应带宽分别为1 kHz和100 MHz。激光器的频率控制采用了Pound-Drever-Hall （PDH）锁频技术,18 MHz的调制频率加载到激光器的电流调制端,通过对F-P腔的反射信号进行解调获得误差信号,通过两路反馈控制,实现了近1 MHz的锁定带宽。通过对系统的不断优化,最后将自由运转状态下约300 kHz的激光线宽压窄到了10 kHz量级,并且系统运行稳定,连续12小时锁定的频率漂移量约为30 MHz。该研究研制的632.8 nm窄线宽激光源不仅可以应用到吸收光谱计量领域,同时也可以在光学面型精密测量领域发挥重要作用。     

强反馈光纤光栅外腔半导体激光器

在理论上对强外腔反馈情形的半导体激光器线宽压窄效应进行了分析，对消反膜剩余反射率，外腔反射率，外腔腔长对线宽压缩的影响进行了研究，在实验上采用光纤光栅作为反馈元件，与一端镀有消反膜的１．５μｍ波段的常规多纵模交导体激光器耦合，构成强反馈光纤光栅外腔半导体激光器，得到单频窄线宽的激光输出，静态下边模抑制比大于３０ｄＢ，线宽小于１２０ｋＨｚ。