Wavelength-tunable thulium-doped single mode fiber laser based on the digitally programmable micro-mirror array

We propose a wavelength-tunable thulium-doped single mode fiber laser with a digitally controlled micro-mirror array device. The fast and flexible lasing wavelength switching property was achieved by the pixelated spatial modulation of the micro-mirror array. The proposed laser provides a maximum output power of 160 mW with 24% slope efficiency and a narrow output linewidth of less than 0.03 nm. The operating wavelength is continuously tunable from 1863 nm to 1937 nm with a wavelength selectivity accuracy of less than 0.4 nm and a fast switching time of ∼75 μs.     

Stable and wavelength-tunable RSOA- and SOA-based fiber ring laser

In this work, we propose and experimentally investigate a wavelength-tunable fiber ring laser architecture by using the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Here, the wavelength tuning range from 1538.03 to 1561.91 nm can be obtained. The measured output power and optical signal to noise ratio (OSNRs) of the proposed fiber laser are between -0.8 and -2.5 dBm and 59.1 and 61.0 dB/0.06 nm, respectively. The power and wavelength stabilities of the proposed laser are also studied. In addition, the proposed laser can be directly modulated at 2.5 Gbit/s quadrature phase shift keying-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (QPSK-OFDM) signal and 20–50 km single-mode fiber (SMF) transmissions are achieved within the forward error correction (FEC) limit without dispersion compensation. It could be a cost-effective and promising candidate for the standard-reach and extended-reach wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network (WDM-PON).     

Stable and widely tunable wavelength-spacing single longitudinal mode dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser

In this paper, a novel and simple widely tunable wavelength-spacing single longitudinal mode (SLM) dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) based on the tunable filter group, a passive feedback fiber ring (FFR) and saturable absorber (SA), is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. Experiment results show that the wavelength spacing can tune from 0.8 nm up to 17 nm, which has potential to generate terahertz (THz) waves by photo-mixing the lasing wavelengths in a high-speed photo-detector, and the maximum fluctuation of peak power of EDFL is less than 0.37 dB within 75 min and the optical signal-to-noise ratio is more than 30 dB at room temperature. In the absence of high-speed photo-detector, THz beat-note is also successively observed with the help of an autocorrelator. Moreover, dual-wavelength fiber laser can selectively realize one wavelength lasing by simply tuning filters.     

Annealing effects on physical properties of doped CdTe thin films for photovoltaic applications

Polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by thermal evaporation at the chamber ambient temperature and then annealed for an hour in vacuum ~1×10⁻⁵ mbar at 400 °C. These annealed thin films were doped with copper (Cu) via ion exchange by immersing these films in Cu (NO₃)₂ solution (1 g/1000 ml) for 20 min. Further these films were again annealed at different temperatures for better diffusion of dopant species. The physical properties of an as doped sample and samples annealed at different temperatures after doping were determined by using energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission spectra analysis, photoconductivity response and hot probe for conductivity type. The optical band gap of these thermally evaporated Cu doped CdTe thin films was determined from the transmission spectra and was found to be in the range 1.42–1.75 eV. The direct energy band gap was found annealing temperatures dependent. The absorption coefficient was >10⁴ cm⁻¹ for incident photons having energy greater than the band gap energy. Optical density was observed also dependent on postdoping annealing temperature. All samples were found having p-type conductivity. These films are strong potential candidates for photovoltaic applications like solar cells.     

N-doped ZnO based fast response ultraviolet photoconductive detector

We report a study on the fabrication and characterization of ultraviolet photodetectors based on N-doped ZnO films. Highly oriented N-doped ZnO films with 10 at.% N doping are deposited using spray pyrolysis technique onto glass substrates. The photoconductive UV detector based on N-doped ZnO thin films, having a metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) configuration are fabricated by using Al as a contact metal. I–V characteristic under dark and UV illumination, spectral and transient response of ZnO and N-doped ZnO photodetector are studied. The photocurrent increases linearly with incident power density by more than two orders of magnitude. The photoresponsivity (580 A/W at 365 nm with 5 V bias, light power density 2 μW/cm²) is much higher in the ultraviolet region than in the visible.     

A self-seeded tunable multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser with fiber bending scheme

A new tunable multiwavelength fiber laser is proposed. Such a laser contains a homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening media, i.e., a Fabry–Perót laser diode and an erbium-doped fiber amplifier, in the laser cavity. The Fabry–Perót laser diode is used to obtain tunable multiwavelength lasing. By adjusting the injection current of the Fabry–Perót laser diode, emission at a single wavelength, dual wavelengths, triple wavelengths or quadruple wavelengths are obtained. The lasing wavelength is tuned by bending a section of fiber in the laser cavity. The tuning ranges for single wavelength lasing and dual wavelength lasing are 20 nm and 10 nm, respectively, while those for triple wavelength lasing and quadruple wavelength lasing are 7 nm and 3 nm, respectively.     

Effects of ammonia concentration on property of Cd1−xZnxS films by chemical bath deposition

Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films were grown on soda–lime glass substrates by chemical-bath deposition (CBD) at 80 °C with stirring. All the samples were annealed at 200 °C for 60 min in the air. The crystal structure, surface morphology, thickness and optical properties of the films were studied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), step height measurement instrument and spectrophotometer respectively. The results revealed that Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films had cubic crystal structure and the intensity of the diffraction peak increased gradually as ammonia concentration rose and the grain size varied from 5.1 to 8.3 nm. All of Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films had a granular surface with some smaller pores and the average granule sizes increased from 92 to 163 nm with an increase in ammonia concentration. The Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films had the highest transmittance with ammonia concentration of 0.5 M L⁻¹, whose thickness was 50 nm and band gap was 2.62 eV.     

Characterization and simulation analysis of laser-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films

The effect of laser energy density on the crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films was studied theoretically and experimentally. The thin films were irritated with a frequency-doubled (λ=532 nm) Nd:YAG pulsed nanosecond laser. An effective finite element model was built to predict the melting threshold and the optimized laser energy density for crystallization of intrinsic amorphous silicon. Simulation analysis revealed variations in the temperature distribution with time and melting depth. The highest crystalline fraction measured by Raman spectroscopy (84.5%) agrees well with the optimized laser energy density (1000 mJ/cm²) in the transient-state simulation. The surface morphology of the thin films observed by optical microscopy is in fairly good agreement with the temperature distribution in the steady-state simulation.     

Substrate temperature effect on structural,optical and electrical properties of vacuum evaporated SnO2 thin films

Tin oxide (SnO₂) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation at different substrate temperatures. Increasing substrate temperature (T_s) from 250 to 450 °C reduced resistivity of SnO₂ thin films from 18×10⁻⁴ to 4×10⁻⁴▒ Ω ▒cm. Further increase of temperature up to 550 °C had no effect on the resistivity. For films prepared at 450 °C, high transparency (91.5%) over the visible wavelength region of spectrum was obtained. Refractive index and porosity of the layers were also calculated. A direct band gap at different substrate temperatures is in the range of 3.55−3.77 eV. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results suggested that all films were amorphous in structure at lower substrate temperatures, while crystalline SnO₂ films were obtained at higher temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the grain size and crystallinity of films depend on the substrate temperature. SnO₂ films prepared at 550 °C have a very smooth surface with an RMS roughness of 0.38 nm.     

Influence of the word length and input power on nonlinear crosstalk induced by hybrid optical amplifiers

In this paper, the influence of the word length (WL) of a pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) and the input laser power on nonlinear crosstalk induced by the different hybrid optical amplifiers (HOAs) has been examined. It is found that the crosstalk is strongly dependent on the WL and very sensitive to the relative powers of the input signals at 0.2 nm and 0.4 nm of the channel spacing. It is shown that the proposed hybrid Raman–EDFA induces lesser crosstalk as compared to other HOAs. The performance of Raman–EDFA HOA is also investigated for 16 × 10 Gbps dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) system at 0.2 nm of channel spacing.     

Effect of processing parameter on structural,optical and electrical properties of photovoltaic chalcogenide nanostructured RF magnetron sputtered thin absorbing films

The aim of this work was to develop high quality of CuIn_1−xGa_xSe₂ thin absorbing films with x (Ga/In+Ga)<0.3 by sputtering without selenization process. CuIn_0.8Ga_0.2Se₂ (CIGS) thin absorbing films were deposited on soda lime glass substrate by RF magnetron sputtering using single quaternary chalcogenide (CIGS) target. The effect of substrate temperature, sputtering power & working pressure on structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of deposited films were studied. CIGS thin films were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy and four probe methods. It was observed that microstructure, surface morphology, elemental composition, transmittance as well as conductivity of thin films were strongly dependent on deposition parameters. The optimum parameters for CIGS thin films were obtained at a power 100 W, pressure 5 mT and substrate temperature 500 °C. XRD revealed that thin film deposited at above said parameters was polycrystalline in nature with larger crystallite size (32 nm) and low dislocation density (0.97×10¹⁵ lines m⁻²). The deposited film also showed preferred orientation along (112) plane. The morphology of the film depicted by FE-SEM was compact and uniform without any micro cracks and pits. The deposited film exhibited good stoichiometry (Ga/In+Ga=0.19 and In/In+Ga=0.8) with desired Cu/In+Ga ratio (0.92), which is essential for high efficiency solar cells. Transmittance of deposited film was found to be very low (1.09%). The absorption coefficient of film was ~10⁵ cm⁻¹ for high energy photon. The band gap of CIGS thin film evaluated from transmission data was found to be 1.13 eV which is optimum for solar cell application. The electrical conductivity (7.87 Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹) of deposited CIGS thin film at optimum parameters was also high enough for practical purpose.     

Low threshold melt-processed two-photon organic surface emitting upconversion lasers

Herein, a low threshold, wavelength-tunable, compact, two-photon pumped upconversion laser is presented. The surface emitting lasers are composed of melt-processed 1,4-bis[2-[4-[N,N-di(p-totyl)amino]phenyl]vinyl]benzene (DADSB) as active media and two designed distributed bragg reflectors. The melting fabrication process is very simple, and the lasing threshold is as low as 150 μJ cm^?2 pulse^?1, when pumped by a Ti:sapphire amplifier operating at 800 nm with a 150 fs pulse width. To the best of our knowledge, it is one of the lowest values for two-photon lasers. Lasing from multimode to single-mode oscillation is demonstrated. Tunable single mode oscillation was obtained at wavelength from 514 nm to 523 nm with a spectral width of less than 0.2 nm.     

Formation of low-resistance and transparent indium tin oxide ohmic contact for high-brightness GaN-based light-emitting diodes using a Sn–Ag interlayer

We report on the formation of low-resistance and highly transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) ohmic contacts to p-GaN using a Sn–Ag alloy interlayer. Although the as-deposited Sn–Ag(6 nm)/ITO(200 nm) contacts show non-ohmic behaviors, the scheme becomes ohmic with specific contact resistance of 4.72×10⁻⁴ Ω cm² and produce transmittance of ∼91% at wavelength of 460 nm when annealed at 530 °C. Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated with the Sn–Ag/ITO contacts give forward-bias voltage of 3.31 V at injection current of 20 mA. LEDs with the Sn–Ag/ITO contacts show the improvement of the output power by 62% (at 20 mA) compared with LEDs with Ni/Au contacts.     

Laser induced impact ionization effect in MOSFET during 1064 nm laser stimulation

Laser stimulation with 1300 nm as thermal (TLS) and with 1064 nm as photoelectric (PLS) laser stimulation techniques are now widely used in failure analysis of Integrated Circuits. The stimulation signatures when using a 1064 nm laser are often a combination of PLS and TLS along with laser induced impact ionization. The results show the existence of laser induce impact ionization current component when high laser power is applied. This work presents a quantitative investigation of 1064 nm laser stimulation effects on single NMOSFET devices. For high laser power applications the impact ionization current becomes the dominant component for 1064 nm laser stimulation.     

Tuning and wavelength switching erbium-doped fiber ring lasers by controlled bending in arc-induced long-period fiber gratings

In this paper, we report a simple method for the production of an all-fiber, tunable and wavelength switchable erbium-doped fiber ring laser (EDFRL). We use the shift in resonance wavelength and notch-depth of arc-induced long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) when it is subject to controlled bend to suppress some wavelength gain and promote lasing in a selective way in a fiber laser system. By changing the bending radius, the operating wavelength of the EDFRL can be tuned from 1526 to 1538 nm and then switched and tuned from 1568 to 1557 nm. The maximum separation measured between laser lines was ～42 nm. This is one of the highest laser separations reported in a wavelength switching operation of an EDFL using a single LPFG as wavelength selective filter.     

Compact Brillouin bismuth–gallium–aluminum co-doped erbium doped fiber laser

A single-wavelength Brillouin–erbium fiber laser (BEFL) is demonstrated using high germanium dopant concentration fiber and bismuth–gallium–aluminum co-doped high concentration erbium doped fiber (EDF). A 20-m long high Ge-doped fiber is used to provide nonlinear gains to generate a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and a 4.3-m long Bi–Ga–Al EDF provides linear gains to amplify the SBS. The relationship between the fiber parameters (dopant concentration, effective area, length and so on) of both linear and nonlinear medium and the output performance was discussed. The BEFL power increases as the effective area of the high Ge-doped fiber decreases. There is an optimum length in the high Ge-doped fiber which is 20-m long in this paper. The BEFL output power also increases as the output power of the Bi–Ga–Al EDF increases. The output performance increases as the erbium doping concentration increases. It is necessary to get the effective area of the Bi–Ga–Al EDF large enough to decrease the fiber loss. The optimum length in the Bi–Ga–Al EDF is 4.3 m. The BEFL operates at 1563.61 nm, which is upshifted by 0.09 nm from the Brillouin pump (BP). It has a peak power of ?3 dBm and a side-mode suppression ratio of 26 dB. The BP wavelength is tunable within a wavelength range from 1562.5 to 1564 nm. The BEFL has a narrow linewidth. It is suitable for many potential applications, such as optical communication and sensors.     

Enhanced efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells with Sr2SiO4:Eu2+ and SrGa2S4:Eu2+ phosphors

We report the effect of yellow Sr₂SiO₄:Eu²⁺ and green SrGa₂S₄:Eu²⁺ phosphors on the efficiency of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Each phosphor was coated on the back side of indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrates by spin coating with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The maximum absorption wavelength of the active layer in the OPV cells was ～512 nm. The emission peaks of Sr₂SiO₄:Eu²⁺ and SrGa₂S₄:Eu²⁺ were maximized at 552 nm and 534 nm, respectively. The short circuit current density (J_sc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OPV cells with Sr₂SiO₄:Eu²⁺ (8.55 mA/cm² and 3.25%) and with SrGa₂S₄:Eu²⁺ (9.29 mA/cm² and 3.3%) were higher than those of the control device without phosphor (7.605 mA/cm² and 3.04%). We concluded that phosphor tuned the wavelength of the incident light to the absorption wavelength of the active layer, thus increasing the J_sc and PCE of the OPV cells.     

Integrity of copper–hafnium,hafnium nitride and multilayered amorphous-like hafnium nitride metallization under various thickness

The barrier properties and failure mechanism of sputtered Hf, HfN and multilayered HfN/HfN thin films were studied for the application as a Cu diffusion barrier in metallization schemes. The barrier capability and thermal stability of Hf, HfN and HfN/HfN films were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), leakage current density, sheet resistance (R_s) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The thin multi-amorphous-like HfN thin film (10 nm) possesses the best barrier capability than Hf (50 nm) and amorphous-like HfN (50 nm). Nitrogen incorporated Hf films possess better barrier performance than sputtered Hf films. The Cu/Hf/n⁺–p junction diodes with the Hf barrier of 50 nm thickness were able to sustain a 30-min thermal annealing at temperature up to 500 °C. Copper silicide forms after annealing. The Hf barrier fails due to the reaction of Cu and the Hf barrier, in which Cu atoms penetrate into the Si substrate after annealing at high temperature. The thermal stabilities of Cu/Hf/n⁺–p junction diodes are enhanced by nitrogen incorporation. Nitrogen incorporated Hf (HfN, 50 nm) diffusion barriers retained the integrity of junction diodes up to 550 °C with lower leakage current densities. Multilayered amorphous-like HfN (10 nm) barriers also retained the integrity of junction diodes up to 550 °C even if the thickness is thin. No copper–hafnium and copper silicide compounds are found. Nitrogen incorporated hafnium diffusion barrier can suppress the formation of copper–hafnium compounds and copper penetration, and thus improve the thermal stability of barrier layer. Diffusion resistance of nitrogen-incorporated Hf barrier is more effective. In all characterization techniques, nitrogen in the film, inducing the microstructure variation appears to play an important role in thermal stability and resistance against Cu diffusion. Amorphousization effects of nitrogen variation are believed to be capable of lengthening grain structures to alleviate Cu diffusion effectively. In addition, a thin multilayered amorphous-like HfN film not only has lengthening grain structures to alleviate Cu diffusion, but block and discontinue fast diffusion paths as well. Hence, a thin multilayered amorphous-like HfN/HfN barrier shows the excellent barrier property to suppress the formation of high resistance η′-(Cu,Si) compound phase to 700 °C.     

The effects of carrier gas and substrate temperature on ZnO films prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates in the temperature range of 350–470 °C under an atmosphere of compressed air or nitrogen (N₂) by using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the ZnO films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrical two-probe and optical transmittance measurements. The ZnO films deposited in the range of 350–430 °C were polycrystalline with the wurtzite hexagonal structure having preferred orientation depending on the substrate temperature. The ZnO films deposited below 400 °C had a preferred (100) orientation while those deposited above 400 °C mostly had a preferred (002) orientation. The resistivity values of ZnO films depended on the types of carrier gas. The ZnO thin films deposited under N₂ atmosphere in the range of 370–410 °C showed dense surface morphologies and resistivity values of 0.6–1.1 Ω-cm, a few orders of magnitude lower than those deposited under compressed air. Hydrogen substition in ZnO possibly contributed to decreasing resistivity in ZnO thin films deposited under N₂ gas. The Hall measurements showed that the behavior of ZnO films deposited at 410 °C under the N₂ atmosphere was n-type with a carrier density of 8.9–9.2×10¹⁶ cm^-3 and mobility of ～70 cm²/Vs. ZnO thin films showed transmission values at 550 nm wavelength in a range of 70–80%. The values of band gaps extrapolated from the transmission results showed bandgap shrinkage in an order of milli electron volts in ZnO films deposited under N₂ compared to those deposited under compressed air. The calculation showed that the bandgap reduction was possibly a result of carrier–carrier interactions.     

Thin films of silica imbedded silicon and germanium quantum dots by solution processing

Hydrophilic silicon (0.9 nm) and germanium (2.7 nm) quantum dots (QDs), synthesized utilizing micelles to control particle size, were coated with silica using liquid phase deposition. The use of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide as a surfactant yielded uniform spheres (Si@SiO₂=57 nm; Ge@SiO₂=32 nm), which could then be arrayed in three dimensions using a vertical deposition method on quartz plates. The silica coated QDs were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The thin films were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and the measurement of a photocurrent.