Low power all-optical switch in a passive InGaAsP multiple quantum well waveguide

We demonstrate the use of resonant bandfilling nonlinearity in an InGaAsP/InGaAsP Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) waveguide due to photogenerated carriers to obtain switching at pulse powers, which can readily be obtained from an erbium amplified diode laser source. In order to produce gating a polarisation rotation gate was used, which relies on an asymmetry in the nonlinear refraction on the principle axes of the waveguide.

Effects of pedestal suppression on gain-switched laser sources for 40 Gbit/s OTDM transmission

The performance of 40 Gbit/s optical time-division multiplexed (OTDM) communication systems can be severely limited when the extinction ratio of the optical pulses is low. This is a consequence of the coherent interference noise between individual OTDM channels. When taken alone, the multiple quantum well-distributed feedback laser+dispersion compensating fiber source exhibits a relatively poor extinction ratio which impairs its potential for use in a 40 Gbit/s OTDM system. However, with the addition of an electroabsorption modulator to suppress the pulse pedestals to better than 30 dB extinction, coherent interference noise is reduced, the bit-error-rate performance is greatly improved, and the source shows good potential for 40 Gbit/s OTDM communication.

10-Gbits/s all-optical 3R regeneration and format conversion using a gain-switched DFB laser

A strain-compensated multiple quantum well device is used as a DFB laser, this has been optimized for low jitter gain switched operation at 10 GHz. The signal is transmitted down 80 km of standard fiber then amplified, filtered and polarization controlled before being injected into a DFB laser. The purpose of this regeneration process is to gain switch the DFB with the extracted clock signal in order to retime the converted signal. This process also simultaneously converts the input NRZ format to an output RZ data to format and results in a signal whose optical power and extinction ratio are considerably improved by the regeneration process.

Nanotube-based passively mode-locked Ytterbium-pumped Raman laser

Over the past decades mode-locked fibre lasers have been extensively refined and developed, with most research efforts focussing on employing rare-earth doped fibres as the active elements [1]. This presents the problem that operation is limited to regions of the spectrum where such elements exhibit gain [1]. Raman amplification in silica fibre is an attractive way to overcome this spectral limitation, with gain available across the entire transparency window (300 nm - 2300 nm) [2-4]. There have been a number of reports utilising Raman gain in ultrashort pulse sources [2-4], however none using a broadband saturable absorber, such as carbon nanotubes [5-7] and graphene [7-9]. A broadband saturable absorber is an essential pre-requisite in order to fully exploit the wavelength flexibility provided by the Raman gain in short pulse mode-locked fiber lasers. © 2011 IEEE.

Plans for laser spectroscopy of trapped cold hydrogen-like HCI

Laser spectroscopy studies are being prepared to measure the 1s ground state hyperfine splitting in trapped cold highly charged ions. The purpose of such experiments is to test quantum electrodynamics in the strong electric field regime. These experiments form part of the HITRAP project at GSI. A brief review of the planned experiments is presented. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrashort pulse generation in diode laser devices

The generation of ultrashort optical pulses by semiconductor lasers has been extensively studied for many years. A number of methods, including gain-/Q-switching and different types of mode locking, have been exploited for the generation of picosecond and sub-picosecond pulses [1]. However, the shortest pulses produced by diode lasers are still much longer and weaker than those that are generated by advanced mode-locked solid-state laser systems [2]. On the other hand, an interesting class of devices based on superradiant emission from multiple contact diode laser structures has also been recently reported [3]. Superradiance (SR) is a transient quantum optics phenomenon based on the cooperative radiative recombination of a large number of oscillators, including atoms, molecules, e-h pairs, etc. SR in semiconductors can be used for the study of fundamental properties of e-h ensembles such as photon-mediated pairing, non-equilibrium e-h condensation, BSC-like coherent states and related phenomena. Due to the intrinsic parameters of semiconductor media, SR emission typically results in the generation of a high-power optical pulse or pulse train, where the pulse duration can be much less than 1 ps, under optimised bias conditions. Advantages of this technique over mode locking in semiconductor laser structures include potentially shorter pulsewidths and much larger peak powers. Moreover, the pulse repetition rate of mode-locked pulses is fixed by the cavity round trip time, whereas the repetition rate of SR pulses is controlled by the current bias and can be varied over a wide range. © 2012 IEEE.

Comparison of the coherence properties of superradiance and laser emission in semiconductor structures

The coherence properties of a transient electron-hole state developing during superradiance emission in semiconductor laser structures have been studied experimentally using a Michelson interferometer and Young's classic double-slit configuration. The results demonstrate that, in the lasers studied, the first-order correlation function, which quantifies spatial coherence, approaches unity for superradiant emission and is 0.2-0.5 for laser emission. The supercoherence is due to long-range ordering upon the superradiant phase transition. © 2012 Kvantovaya Elektronika and Turpion Ltd.

Superradiant emission in semiconductor diode laser structures

This paper reviews recent advances in superradiant (SR) emission in semiconductors at room temperature, a process which has been shown to enable the generation on demand of high power picosecond or subpicosecond pulses across a range of different wavelengths. The different characteristic features of SR emission from semiconductor devices with bulk, quantum-well, and quantum-dot active regions are outlined, and particular emphasis is placed on comparing the characteristic features of SR with those of lasing. Finally, potential applications of SR pulses are discussed. © 1995-2012 IEEE.

Hybrid and passive mode-locking of a monolithic two-section MQW InGaN/GaN laser diode

We report the first hybrid mode-locking of a monolithic two-section multiple quantum well InGaN based laser diode. This device, with a length of 1.5 mm, has a 50-μm-long absorber section located at the back facet and generates a continuous stable 28.6 GHz pulse train with an average output power of 9.4 mW at an emission wavelength of 422 nm. Under hybrid mode-locking, the pulse width reduces to 4 ps, the peak power increases to 72 mW, and the microwave linewidth reduces by 13 dB to <500 kHz. We also observe the passive mode-locking with pulse width and peak power of 8 ps and 37 mW, respectively. © 1989-2012 IEEE.

Dicke superradiance in GaN quantum wells

We numerically modeled the spatio-temporal dynamics of Dicke superradiance in GaN/InGaN heterostructure quantum wells in a ridge waveguide cavity. Model predictions envisage ultrashort pulses of intensities superior to what can be obtained in mode-locked lasers. ©2010 IEEE.

DIRECT DETECTION OF PICOSECOND PULSES EMITTED BY AN INJECTION LASER WITH ACTIVE MODE LOCKING.

An Agat-SF linear-scan streak image-converter camera was used to record output pulses of 2. 7 psec duration generated by an injection laser with an external dispersive resonator operated in the active mode-locking regime. The duration of the pulses was determined by the reciprocal of the spectral width and the product of the duration and the spectral width was 0. 30.

GENERATION OF PICOSECOND PULSES IN AN INJECTION LASER WITH AN EXTERNAL SELECTIVE RESONATOR.

Pulses of 15 psec duration were generated by an injection laser with an external dispersive resonator operating in the active mode-locking regime. This regime was attained by subjecting the laser diode to a current of high frequency equal to the intermode interval in the external resonator. The duration of the pulses was determined by an autocorrelation method in which the second harmonic was generated in an LiIO//3 crystal.

Superradiance: exploiting quantum phase transition in the real world

Superradiance (SR), or cooperative spontaneous emission, has been predicted by R. Dicke before the invention of the laser. During the last few years one can see a renaissance of both experimental and theoretical studies of the superradiant phase transition in a variety of media, ranging from quantum dots and Bose condensates through to black holes. Until recently, despite of many years of research, SR has been considered as a phenomenon of pure scientific interest without obvious potential applications. However, recent investigations of the femtosecond SR emission generation from semiconductors have opened up some practical opportunities for the exploitation of this quantum optics phenomenon. Here we present a brief review of some features, advantages and potential applications of the SR generation from semiconductor laser structures