High-speed photodetector characterization using tunable laser by optical heterodyne technique - art. no. 60200A

An ultra-wide-band frequency response measurement system for optoelectronic devices has been established using the optical heterodyne method utilizing a tunable laser and a wavelenath-fixed distributed feedback laser. By controlling the laser diode cavity length, the beat frequency is swept from DC to hundreds GHz. An outstanding advantage is that this measurement system does not need any high-speed light modulation source and additional calibration. In this measurement, two types of different O/E receivers have been tested. and 3 dB bandwidths measured by this system were 14.4GHz and 40GHz, respectively. The comparisons between experimental data and that from manufacturer show that this method is accurate and easy to carry out.

Electroabsorption-modulated DFB laser integrated with dual-waveguide spot-size converter - art. no. 60200N

A 1.55-mu m ridge DFB laser and electroabsorption modulator monolithically integrated with a buried-ridge-stripe dual-waveguide spot-size converter at the output port for low-loss coupling to a cleaved single-mode optical fiber was fabricated by means of selective area growth, quantum well intermixing and dual-core technologies. These devices exhibit threshold current of 28 mA, side mode suppression ratio of 38.0 dB, 3-dB modulation bandwidth of 12.0 GHz, modulator extinction ratios of 25.0 dB dc. The output beam divergence angles of the spot-size converter in the horizontal and vertical directions are as small as 8.0 degrees x 12.6 degrees, respectively, resulting in 3.2 dB coupling loss with a cleaved single-mode optical fiber.

Color center conversion by femtosecond pulse laser irradiation in LiF : F-2 crystals

We report the observation of intense spontaneous emission of green light from LiF:F-2:F-3(+) centers in active channel waveguides generated in lithium fluoride crystals by near-infrared femtosecond laser radiation. While irradiating the crystal at room temperature with 405 nm light from a laser diode, yellow and green emission was seen by the naked eye. Stripe waveguides were fabricated by translating the crystal along the irradiated laser pulse, and their guiding properties and fluorescence spectra at 540 nm demonstrated. This single-step process inducing a waveguide structure offers a good prospect for the development of a waveguide laser in bulk LiF crystals.

Valence hole subbands and optical gain spectra of GaN/Ga1-xAlxN strained quantum wells

The valence hole subbands, TE and TM mode optical gains, transparency carrier density, and radiative current density of the zinc-blende GaN/Ga0.85Al0.15N strained quantum well (100 Angstrom well width) have been investigated using a 6 X 6 Hamiltonian model including the heavy hole, Light hole, and spin-orbit split-off bands. At the k = 0 point, it is found that the light hole strongly couples with the spin-orbit split-off hole, resulting in the so+lh hybrid states. The heavy hole does not couple with the light hole and the spin-orbit split-off hole. Optical transitions between the valence subbands and the conduction subbands obey the Delta n=0 selection rule. At the k not equal 0 points, there is strong band mixing among the heavy hole, light hole, and spin-orbit split-off hole. The optical transitions do not obey the Delta n=0 selection rule. The compressive strain in the GaN well region increases the energy separation between the so1+lh1 energy level and the hh1 energy level. Consequently, the compressive strain enhances the TE mode optical gain, and strongly depresses the TM mode optical gain. Even when the carrier density is as large as 10(19) cm(-3), there is no positive TM mode optical gain. The TE mode optical gain spectrum has a peak at around 3.26 eV. The transparency carrier density is 6.5 X 10(18) cm(-3), which is larger than that of GaAs quantum well. The compressive strain overall reduces the transparency carrier density. The J(rad) is 0.53 kA/cm(2) for the zero optical gain. The results obtained in this work will be useful in designing quantum well GaN laser diodes and detectors. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Comparative studies of semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locking dynamics in pulsed diode-end-pumped picosecond Nd:GdVO4 and Nd:YAG lasers

Ultrashort pulses were generated in passively mode-locked Nd:YAG and Nd:GdVO4 lasers pumped by a pulsed laser diode with 10-Hz repetition rate. Stable mode-locked pulse trains were produced with the pulse width of 10 ps. The evolution of the mode-locked pulse was observed in the experiment and was discussed in detail. Comparing the pulse evolutions of Nd:YAG and Nd:GdVO4 lasers, we found that the buildup time of the steady-state mode-locking with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) was relevant to the upper-state lifetime and the emission cross-section of the gain medium.

Room temperature continuous wave operation of 1.33-micron InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser with high output power

Continuous wave operation of a semiconductor laser diode based on five stacks of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded within strained InGaAs quantum wells as an active region is demonstrated. At room temperature, 355-mW output power at ground state of 1.33-1.35 microns for a 20-micron ridge-waveguide laser without facet coating is achieved. By optimizing the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions, the QD density per layer is raised to 4*10^(10) cm^(-2). The laser keeps lasing at ground state until the temperature reaches 65 Celsius degree.

High-Power Distributed Feedback Laser Diodes Emitting at 820nm

By etching a second-order grating directly into the Al-free optical waveguide region of a ridgewaveguide（RW） AlGaInAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback（DFB） laser diode,a front facet output power of 30mW is obtained at about 820nm with a single longitudinal mode. The Al-free grating surface permits the re-growth of a high-quality cladding layer that yields excellent device performance. The threshold current of these laser diodes is 57mA,and the slope efficiency is about 0.32mW/mA.

1.3-μm uncooled 10 Gb/s directly modulated MQW AlGaInAs/InP laser diodes

In this paper, we report a novel 1.3-μm uncooled AlGaInAs/InP multiple quantum well (MQW) ridge waveguide laser diodes. By optimizing the design of MQW structure and facet coatings, together with the application of reversed-mesa ridge waveguide (RM-RWG) structure, polyimide planarization, and lift-off processes technology, an uncooled 1.3-μm, 10-Gb/s directly modulated MQW ridge waveguide laser diode was successfully fabricated. The threshold current and the slope efficiency were 7 mA and 0.48 mW/mA, respectively. The directly modulated bandwidths of 11 and 9.2 GHz were achieved at room temperature and 80 Celsius degrees, respectively.

Material Growth and Device Fabrication of GaAs Based 1.3μm GaInNAs Quantum Well Laser Diodes

Material growth and device fabrication of the first 1.3μm quantum well （QW） edge emitting laser diodes in China are reported. Through the optimization of the molecular beam epitaxy （MBE） growth conditions and the tuning of the indium and nitrogen composition of the GalnNAs QWs, the emission wavelengths of the QWs can be tuned to 1.3μm. Ridge geometry waveguide laser diodes are fabricated. The lasing wavelength is 1.3μm under continuous current injection at room temperature with threshold current of 1kA/cm^2 for the laser diode structures with the cleaved facet mirrors. The output light power over 30mW is obtained.

Contrastive study of two SESAMs for passive mode-locking in Nd:YVC>4 laser with low pump power

Two semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs), of which one is coated with 50% reflection film on the top and the other is not, were contrastively studied in passively mode-locked solid-state lasers which were pumped by low output power laser diode (LD). Experiments have shown that reducing the modulation depth of SESAM by coating partial reflection film, whose reflectivity is higher than that between SESAM and air interface, is an effective method to get continuous wave (CW) mode-locking instead of Q-switched mode-locking (QML) in low power pumped solid-state lasers. A simple Nd:YVO4 laser pumped by low power LD, in which no water-cooling system was used, could obtain CW mode-locking by the 50% reflector coated SESAM with average output power of ~ 20 mW

A double wavelength DFB laser with an identical active area for CWDM

A novel distribute feedback (DFB) laser which gave two different wavelengths under two distinct work conditions was fabricated. The laser consists of two Bragg gratings with different periods corresponding to wavelength spacing of 20 nm in an identical active area. When driving current was injected into one of the different sections separately, two different wavelengths at 1542.4 and 1562.5 nm were realized. The side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 45 dB or more both for the two Bragg wavelengths were achieved. The fabricating process of the laser was just the same as that of traditional DFB laser diode. This device can be potentially used in coarse wavelength division multiplexer (CWDM) as a promising light source and the technology idea can be used to enlarge the transmission capacity in metro area network (MAN).

Theoretical Study on the Butt-coupling of Semiconductor Laser and Fiber Bragg Grating

The butt-coupling between a semiconductor laser diode and a fiber Bragg grating external cavity acts a key roll on the laser characteristics. The scatter matrix method considering the butt-coupling efficiency is used to analyze the butt-coupling between them. It is found that the butt-coupling distance and coupling efficiency determine the laser characteristics. For strong feedback, the single lasing wavelength changes in the reflection bandwidth of the effective reflectivity ( approximately the Bragg region of the fiber Bragg grating) as the distances change. For weak feedback condition, some different results are obtained. The SMSRs in the two conditions are presented and analyzed. These results can provide important design guidance of device parameters for the practical fabrication.

Design of a Tapered Lens for Semiconductor Laser to Single-Mode Fiber Coupling

The theoretical investigation of the coupling efficiency of a laser diode to a single mode fiber via a hemispherical lens on the tip of the tapered fiber in the presence of possible transverse offset and angular mismatch is reported.Without the misalignment,coupling efficiency increases with the decreasing of taper length.With the misalignment,this relation is that the coupling efficiency decreases with each kind of offset.

High Power 940 nm Al-free Active Region Laser Diodes and Bars with a Broad Waveguide

The 940 nm Al-free active region laser diodes and bars with a broad waveguide were designed and fabricated. The stuctures were grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. The devices show excellent performances. The maximum output power of 6.7 W in the 100 f^m broad-area laser diodes has been measured, and is 2. 5 times higher than that in the Al-containing active region laser diodes with a narrow waveguide and 1. 7 times higher than that in Al-free active region laser diodes with a narrow waveguide. The 19 % fill-factor laser diode bars emit 33 W, and they can operate at 15W with low degradation rates.

High temperature operation of 650nm AlGaInP quantum well laser diodes grown by LP-MOCVD

Low threshold current and high temperature operation of 650nm AlGaInP quantum well laser diodes grown by low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) are reported in this paper. 650nm laser diodes with threshold current as low as 22-24mA at room temperature, and the operating temperature over 90 degrees C at CW output power 5 mW were achieved in this study. These lasers are stable during 72 hours burn in under 5mW at 90 degrees C.