Laser-induced damage of Ta2O5/S1O2 narrow-band interference filters under different 1064 nm Nd : YAG laser modes

The laser-induced damage (LID) behavior of narrow-band interference filters was investigated with a Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm under single-pulse mode and free-running mode. The absorption measurement of such coatings was performed with surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The damage morphologies under the two different laser modes were also studied in detail. It was found that all the filters exhibited a pass-band-center-dependent absorption and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) behavior, but the damage morphologies were diverse. The explanation was given with the analysis of the electric field distribution and the operational behavior of the irradiation laser. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation of high laser induced damage threshold antireflection film using interrupted ion assisted deposition

Single layers and antireflection films were deposited by electron beam evaporation, ion assisted deposition and interrupted ion assisted deposition, respectively. Antireflection film of quite high laser damage threshold (18J/cm(2)) deposited by interrupted ion assisted deposition were got. The electric field distribution, weak absorption, and residual stress of films and their relations to damage threshold were investigated. It was shown that the laser induced damage threshold of film was the result of competition of disadvantages and advantages, and interrupted ion assisted deposition was one of the valuable methods for preparing high laser induced damage threshold films. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America

Electric field distribution in resonant reflection filters under normal incidence

Electric field distributions inside resonant reflection filters constructed using planar periodic waveguides are investigated in this paper. The electric fields may be intensified by resonance effects. Although the resonant reflection peaks can be quite narrow using weakly modulated planar periodic waveguides, the strong electric field enhancement limits their use in high-power laser systems. Strongly modulated waveguides may be used to reduce the electric field enhancement and a cover layer may be used to narrow the bandwidth at the same time. Desired results (i.e. almost no electric field enhancement together with narrow bandwidth) can be realized using this simple structure.

Influence of SiO2 additional layers on the laser induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

A series or Ta2O5 films with different SiO2 additional layers including overcoat, undercoat and interlayer was prepared by electron beam evaporation under the same deposition process. Absorption of samples was measured using the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The electric field distributions of the samples were theoretical predicted using thin film design software (TFCalc). The laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using an Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm with a pulse length of 12 ns. It was found that SiO2 additional layers resulted in a slight increase of the absorption, whereas they exerted little influence on the microdefects. The electric field distribution among the samples was unchanged by adding an SiO2 overcoat and undercoat, yet was changed by adding an interlayer. SiO2 undercoat. The interlayer improved the LIDT greatly, whereas the SiO2 overcoat had little effect on the LIDT. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Single-Fundamental-Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser

Single-fundamental-mode photonic crystal (PhC) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) are produced and their single-fundamental-mode performances are investigated and demonstrated. A two-dimensional PhC with single-point-defect structure is fabricated using UV photolithography and inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching on the surface of the VCSEL's top distributed Bragg-reflector. The PhC VCSEL maintains single-fundamental-mode operating with output power 1.7 mW and threshold current 2.5 mA. The full width half maximum of the lasing spectrum is less than 0.1 nm, the far field divergence angle is less than 10 degrees and the side mode suppression ratio is over 35 dB. The device characteristics are analyzed based on the effective index model of the photonic crystal fiber. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical expectation.

Continuous-wave operation of GaN based multi-quantum-well laser diode at room temperature

Room-temperature operation of cw GaN based multi-quantum-well laser diodes (LDs) is demonstrated. The LD structure is grown on a sapphire (0001) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. A 2.5 mu m x 800 mu m ridge waveguide structure is fabricated. The electrical and optical characteristics of the laser diode under direct current injection at room temperature are investigated. The threshold current and voltage of the LD under cw operation are 110mA and 10.5V, respectively. Thermal induced series resistance decrease and emission wavelength red-shift are observed as the injection current is increased. The full width at half maximum for the parallel and perpendicular far field pattern (FFP) are 12 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively.

A mini-staged multi-stacked quantum cascade laser for improved optical and thermal performance

In this paper, a mini-staged multi-stacked quantum cascade laser structure with a designed wavelength of 4.7 mu m is presented. By introducing five 0.5 mu m thick high thermal conductivity InP interbuffer layers, the 60-stages active region core of the quantum cascade laser is divided into six equal parts. Based on simulation, this kind of quantum cascade laser with a 10 mu m ridge width gives nearly circular two-dimensional far-field distribution (FWHM = 32.8 degrees x 29 degrees) and good beam quality parameters M-2 = 1.32 x 1.31 in the fast axis (growth direction) and the slow axis (lateral direction). Due to the enhancement of lateral heat extraction through the interbuffer layers, compared to the conventional structure, a decrease of about 5-6% for the maximum temperature in the active region core of the mini-staged multi-stacked quantum cascade laser with indium-surrounded and gold-electroplated packaging profiles is obtained at all possible dissipated electrical power levels.

Design of high polarization and single-mode photonic crystal laser

The dipole mode in triangular photonic crystal single defect cavity is degenerate. By deforming the lattice in photonic crystal we can obtain non-degenerate dipole modes. Lattice deforming in the whole photonic crystal destroys the characteristic of symmetry, so the distribution of the electromagnetic field is affected and the polarization of the electromagnetic field is also changed. Lattice deforming divides the degenerate dipole mode into the x-dipole mode and the y-dipole mode. It is found that the non-degenerate modes have better properties of polarization. So the high polarization and single dipole mode photonic crystal laser can be achieved by deforming the lattice of photonic crystal. In this paper, we simulated the cavity in photonic crystal slab and mainly calculated the quality factor of x-dipole mode under different deforming conditions and with different filling factors. The properties of polarization of x-dipole and y-dipole modes are also calculated. It is found that the ratio of intensities of E-x to E-y in x-dipole mode and that of E-y to E-x in y-dipole mode are 44 and 27, respectively.

Holographic fabricated photonic-crystal distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser with near-diffraction-limited beam quality

We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of photonic-crystal distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser emitting at 4.7 mu m. The tilted rectangular-lattice PCDFB structure was defined using a multi-exposure of two-beam holographic lithography. The devices exhibit the near-diffraction-limited beam emission with the full width at half maximum of the far-field divergence angles about 4.5 degrees and 2.5 degrees for stripe widths of 55 mu m and 95 mu m, respectively. Single-mode emission with a side mode suppression ratio of approximate to 20 dB is achieved in the temperature range (80-210 K). The single-facet output power is above 1 W for a 95 mu m x 2.5 mm laser bar at 85 K in pulsed operation. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Two-dimensional simulation of high-order laterally-coupled GaAs-AlGaAs DFB laser diodes

Laterally-coupled distributed feedback (LC-DFB) laser diodes made without an epitaxial re-growth process have the advantage of a simple fabrication process. In this paper, two-dimensional optical field distribution of the fundamental quasi TE (transverse electric) mode is calculated by means of a semivectorial finite-difference method (SV-FDM). The dependence of the effective coupling coefficient (kappa(eff)) on the dutycycle of first-, second- and third-order LC-DFB LDs is investigated using modified coupled wave equations.

Enhancement of the far-field output power and the properties of the very-small-aperture lasers

We report on a VSAL structure fabricated by a 650 nm edge emitting laser diode with an Au-coated facet and an aperture size of 250 x 500 nm. The far field output power can maintain at 1 mW and the power density is 7.5 mW/mu m(2). Some properties of the VSAL including the threshold current change, the red-shift of the spectral position, and the strong relative-intensity-noise are presented. The physical mechanisms responsible for these phenomena are also discussed, which may contribute to the understanding and application of the potential device for near-field optics.

Surface plasmon modulated nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

Surface plasmon modulated nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers were fabricated from common 850 nm VCSELs. When the diameter of the aperture was 200 nm, and the period of grating was 400 nm, the maximum far-field output power reached 0.3mW at a driving current of 15 mA. The fabrication process was described and the beaming properties were studied via experimentally and theoretically.

Surface plasmon modulated nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

We have fabricated surface plasmon modulated nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) from common 850 nm VCSELs using focus ion beam etching with Ga+ ion source. The far-field output power is about 0.3 mW at a driving current of 15 mA with a sub-wavelength aperture surrounded by concentric periodic grooves. The enhancement of transmission intensity can be explained by diffraction and enhanced fields associated with surface plasmon. This structure also exhibits beaming properties.

Thermal lensing effect in ridge structure InGaN multiple quantum well laser diodes

Time-resolved light-current curves, spectra, and far-field distributions of ridge structure InGaN multiple quantum well laser diodes grown on sapphire substrate are measured with a temporal resolution of 0.1 ns under a pulsed current condition. Results show that the thermal lensing effect clearly improves the confinement of the higher order modes. The thermal lens leads to a lower threshold current for the higher order modes, a higher slope efficiency, and a change in the lasing mode of the device. The threshold current for the higher modes decreases by about 5 mA in every 10 ns in a pulse, and the slope efficiency increases by 7.5 times on the average when higher modes lase. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Detect the sub-wavelength data by applying a very-small-aperture laser

We present a theoretical and experimental research about applying a very-small-aperture laser (VSAL) to detect sub-wavelength data. Near-field distribution of a VSAL, which is essential for the application of such near-field devices, will be affected by the sample or fiber posited in the near-field region of the aperture. When the device is applied to detect the sub-wavelength data, the real resolution depends on the near-field spot size, the divergent angle of the beam and the distance from the aperture to the sample. Experimental results, including the near-field detection of the spot and detection of the sub-wavelength data by using the VSAL, are presented in this paper. We realize the two dimensional scanning about the sub-wavelength data (with the width 600 nm) by employing a VSAL with a 300 nm x 300 nm aperture.