Experimental observation of resonant modes in GaInAsP microsquare resonators

GaInAsP-InP microsquare resonators with InP pedestals are fabricated by two-step chemical etching, and obvious mode peaks are observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the resonators. The mode Q-factors about 500 are obtained for a microsquare resonator with the side length of 7 mu m. The experimental mode interval is in agreement with that predicted by the light ray method based on the cavity length, instead of that of the whispering-gallery (WG)-like modes, which has mode interval twice of that determined by the cavity length. The finite-difference time-domain simulation shows that a little asymmetry may greatly reduce the difference of the Q-factors between the WG-like modes and the other modes.

Changing planar thin film growth into self-assembled island formation by adjusting experimental conditions

Illustrated in this paper are two examples of altering planar growth into self-assembled island formation by adapting experimental conditions. Partial oxidation, undersaturated solution and high temperature change Frank-Van der Merwe (FM) growth of Al0.3Ga0.7As in liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) into isolated island deposition. Low growth speed, high temperature and in situ annealing in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) cause the origination of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) to happen while the film is still below critical thickness in Stranski-Krastanow (SK) mode. Sample morphologies are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is suggested that such achievements are of value not only to fundamental researches but also to spheres of device applications as well. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental and numerical study on AlGaInAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback lasers with GaInP gratings

Ridge-waveguide AlGaInAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback lasers with lattice-matched GaInP gratings were fabricated and their light-current characteristics, spectrum and far-field characteristics were measured. On the basis of our experimental results we analyze the effect of the electron stopper layer on light-current performance using the commercial laser simulation software PICS3D. The simulator is based on the self-consistent solution of drift diffusion equations, the Schrodinger equation, and the photon rate equation. The simulation results suggest that, with the use of a 80 nm-width p-doped Al0.6GaAs electron stopper layer, the slope efficiency can be increased and the threshold current can be reduced by more than 10 mA.

Experimental study of mode field evolution of dual-core photonic crystal fiber

The accurate mode field profile of high negative dispersion dual-core photonic crystal fiber (DCPCF) is measured. The mode field evolution of DCPCF with wavelength is studied experimentally for the first time. The measurement result shows that no individual inner core mode or outer core mode exists, but two modes coexist simultaneously, and either one of them is dominant. The mode field evolution versus wavelength indicates that the wavelength range where the modes coupling takes place between inner core and outer core is broader than that of theoretical design.

Experimental investigation of intracavity absorber low temperature GaAs in diode-pumped Nd : GdVO4 laser

A passively Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser was demonstrated using a low-temperature-grown GaAs wafer (LT-GaAs) as an intracavity saturable absorber. The maximal Q-switched mode-locked average output power was 750 mW with the Q-switched envelop having a repetition rate of 167 kHz. The mode-locked pulse trains inside the Q-switched pulse envelope had a repetition rate of similar to 790 MHz.

Experimental study of a pulsed ytterbium-doped fibre laser with fast and slow saturable absorbers in a linear cavity

We present a linear-cavity stretched-pulse fibre laser with mode locking by a nonlinear polarization rotation and by semiconductor saturable-absorber mirrors. A Q-switched mode-locking cw train and a mode-locking pulse train are obtained in the experiment. We investigate the effects of the equivalent fast saturable absorber and the slow saturable absorbers in experiment. It is found that neither the nonlinear polarization evolution effect nor a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror is enough to produce the stable cw mode-locking pulses in this experiment. A nonlinear polarization evolution effect controls the cavity loss to literally carve the pulses; semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors provide the self-restarting and maintain the stability of the mode-locking operation.

Proof of InAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dot lasing and the experimental determination of local Strain effect on the band structures

Confirmation of quantum dot lasing have been given by photoluminescence and electro-luminescence spectra. Energy levels of QD laser are distinctively resolved due to band filling effect, and the lasing energy of quantum dot laser is much lower than quantum well laser. The energy barrier at InAs/GaAs interface due to the built-in strain in self-organized system has been determined experimentally by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Such barrier has been predicted by previous theories and can be explained by the apexes appeared in the interface between InAs and GaAs caused by strain.

Experimental investigation of photoluminescence dynamics of cavity polaritons under nonresonant excitation

Low-temperature time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) experiments have been performed on a semiconductor planar microcavity, which contains two sets of three In0.13Ga0.87As/GaAs quantum wells embedded in a 3 lambda /2 GaAs cavity. The spontaneous emission dynamics of both lower- and upper-branch polaritons is investigated as a function of exciton-cavity detuning under nonresonant optical excitation. It is found that the PL decay times of both branches are independent of cavity detuning while the PL rising kinetics of the lower- and upper-branch polaritons exhibits a significant difference. The rise time of the upper polarition branch shows a strong dependence on cavity detuning, while the rise time of the lower polarition branch is less sensitive to cavity detuning. Our results can be well understood in the framework of the theoretical prediction of Tassone et al.

Experimental measurement of microwave-induced electron spin-flip time

The electron spin resonance (ESR) is optically detected by monitoring the microwave-induced changes in the circular polarization of the neutral exciton (X) and the negatively charged exciton (X-) emission in CdTe quantum wells with low density of excess electrons. We find that the circular polarization of the X and X- emission is a mapping of the spin polarization of excess electrons. By analyzing the ESR-induced decrease in the circular polarization degree of the X emission, we deduce the microwave-induced electron spin-flip time >0.1 mus, which is much longer than the recombination time of X and X-. This demonstrates that the optically detected ESR in type I quantum wells with low density of excess electrons does not obey the prerequisite for the conventional optically detected magnetic resonance. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Theoretical analysis and experimental study of Fourier transformation of Franz-Keldysh oscillations in GaAs

Fourier transformation (FT) has been used in the theoretical line shape analysis of Franz-Keldysh oscillations (FKOs) in detail by numerical simulations. FKOs from the surface-intrinsic-n(+) GaAs structure were obtained in photoreflectance (PR) measurements with various modulation light intensities and with different strengths of bias light illumination, which were used to change the static electric field in the intrinsic layer of the sample. The FT spectra of the PR spectra, including the real part, imaginary part, and the modulus, were very consistent with the theoretical line shapes. The ratio of the square root of the reduced mass (root mu (L)/root mu (H)) and the ratio of transition strength of the electron heavy hole to the electron light hole were obtained from the PT spectra. In addition, the electric field in the intrinsic layer of the sample without and with bias illumination and the modulation field induced by photomodulation were also obtained. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)02123-X].

Experimental study on tunable external cavity photodetectors

In this paper, an experiment on tunable resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) photodetector with external cavity is reported. It is the first time to realize a tunable RCE photodetector in China. A tuning range about 10 nm has been obtained and further extension is expected. Corresponding theoretical analysis and discussions are presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental and numerical investigations on dissolution and recrystallization processes of GaSb/InSb/GaSb under microgravity and terrestrial conditions

The effects of gravity and crystal orientation on the dissolution of GaSb into InSb melt and the recrystallization of InGaSb were investigated under microgravity condition using a Chinese recoverable satellite and under normal gravity condition on earth. To investigate the effect of gravity on the solid/liquid interface and compositional profiles. a numerical simulation was carried out. The InSb crystal melted at 525 degrees C and then a part of GaSb dissolved into the InSb melt during heating to 706 degrees C and this process led to the formation of InGaSb solution. InGaSb solidified during the cooling process. The experimental and calculation results clearly show that the shape of the solid/liquid interface and compositional profiles in the solution were significantly affected by gravity. Under microgravity, as the Ga compositional profiles were uniform in the radial direction. the interfaces were almost parallel. On the contrary, for normal gravity condition, as large amounts of Ga moved up in the upper region due to buoyancy, the dissolved zone broadened towards gravitational direction. Also. during the cooling process, needle crystals of InGaSb started appearing and the value of x of InxGa1-xSb crystals increased with the decrease of temperature. The GaSb with the (111)B plane dissolved into the InSb melt much more than that of the (111)A plane. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental determination of local Strain effect on InAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dots

The energy barrier at InAs/GaAs interface due to the built-in strain in self-organized system has been determined experimentally. Such a barrier has been predicted by previous theories. From the deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements, we have obtained the electron and hole energy levels of quantum dots E-e(QD-->GaAs) = 0.13 eV and E-h(QD-->GaAs) = 0.09 eV relative to the bulk unstrained GaAs band edges E-c and E-v. DLTS measurements have also provided evidence to the existence of the capture barriers of quantum dots for electron E-eB = 0.30 eV and hole E-hB = 0.26 eV. The barriers can be explained by the apexes appearing in the interface between InAs and GaAs caused by strain. Combining the photoluminescence results, the band structures of InAs and GaAs have been determined.

Experimental Demonstration on Structure-Parameter Dependence of Photonic Crystal Optical Spectrum

We present fabrication and experimental measurement of a series of photonic crystal waveguides and coupled structure of PC waveguide and PC micro-cavity. The complete devices consist of an injector taper down from 3 mu m into a triangular-lattice air-holes single-line-defect waveguide. We fabricated these devices on a silicon-on-insulator substrate and characterized them using tunable laser source. We've obtained high-efficiency light propagation and broad flat spectrum response of photonic-crystal waveguides. A sharp attenuation at photonic crystal waveguide mode edge was observed for most structures. The edge of guided band is shifted about 31 nm with the 10 nm increase of lattice constant. Mode resonance was observed in coupled structure. Our experimental results indicate that the optical spectra of photonic crystal are very sensitive to structure parameters.

Theoretical and Experimental Studies of an Ultra-compact Photonic Crystal Corner Mirror Based on Silicon-On-Insulator

An ultra-compact silicon-on-insulator based photonic crystal corner mirror is designed and optimized. A sample is then successfully fabricated with extra losses 1.1 +/- 0.4dB for transverse-electronic (M) polarization for wavelength range of 1510-1630nm.