Linear InGaAsP edge-emitting LED's for single-mode fibercommunications

A 1.3-μm edge-emitting diode with a linear radiance and high coupled power into a fiber is described. The LED yields 60 μW of coupled power into a single-mode fiber at a driving current of 100 mA and an ambient temperature of 25°C. A V-groove structure with an optical absorption region separated from an active region is used. At active layer thicknesses below 0.14 μm, linear current-light output characteristics are obtained. The spectral modulation depth is 0% over the entire emission spectral width of 75 nm, and coherence length is 22.5 μm. LED characteristics are achieved in the range from -30 to 85°C at a driving current of 100 mA. The LEDs exhibit a cutoff frequency of 250 MHz. LED reliability is discussed using results of accelerated aging carried out at the ambient temperatures of 50, 125, and 200°C. The activation energy of degradation is determined to be 0.63 eV, and LED half-lives are estimated to be in excess of 10⁶ h     

Spontaneous emission factor of a microcavity DBR surface-emittinglaser

The spontaneous emission factor (SEF) of a microcavity distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) surface-emitting laser has been obtained theoretically to investigate the possibility of the thresholdless lasing operation. Formulas expressing the spontaneous emission in a three-dimensional microcavity were obtained. By introducing the distribution of mode density in wavevector space, it is shown that the radiation pattern of spontaneous emission is deeply modified by the microcavity and is different from that in free space. Based on this result, the SEF and the emission lifetime are calculated as a function of emission spectral width and the size of the active region. It is found that the SEF exceeds 0.1, even though the spectral width is as large as 30 nm when the transverse size is smaller than 0.5 μm and the DBR reflectivity is larger than 90%     

Comparative study on temperature-dependent multichannel gain andnoise figure distortion for 1.48- and 0.98-μm pumped EDFAs

Temperature dependence of multichannel gain flatness and noise figure (NF) was compared for different pump wavelengths of 1.48 and 0.98 μm on silica-based erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) through measurement-based numerical simulation. Owing to its temperature sensitive pump emission cross section, the 1.48-μm pumping showed greater temperature sensitivity (maximum 0.75-dB gain flatness distortion with 0.57-dB average gain level shift, 0.3-dB NF variation for 25°C change) than the 0.98 μm pumping (maximum 0.5-dB gain flatness distortion with 0.015-dB average gain level shift, 0.05-dB NF variation for 25°C change). However, it was also found that distortion ripple spectra mainly coming from the changes of signal cross sections and asymmetric gain temperature dependence necessitate compensation techniques in the EDFA link, irrespective of pump wavelength     

Distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers emitting in the 9-μmband with InP top cladding layers

Two different high performance quantum cascade distributed-feedback lasers with four quantum-well-based active regions and InP top cladding layers are presented. The first device, which emitted at 9.5 μm, was mounted junction down in order to get high average powers of up to 71 mW at -30°C and 30 mW at room temperature. The other device, which lased at 9.1 μm, was optimized for high pulsed operating temperatures and tested up to 150°C at 1.5% duty cycle. The emission of both lasers stayed single mode with more than 20-dB side-mode suppression ratio over the entire investigated power and temperature range     

High T0 long-wavelength InGaAsN quantum-well lasersgrown by GSMBE using a solid arsenic source

We demonstrate high performance, λ=1.3- and 1.4-μm wavelength InGaAsN-GaAs-InGaP quantum-well (QW) lasers grown lattice-matched to GaAs substrates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE) using a solid As source. Threshold current densities of 1.15 and 1.85 kA/cm² at λ=1.3 and 1.4 μm, respectively, were obtained for the lasers with a 7-μm ridge width and a 3-mm-long cavity. Internal quantum efficiencies of 82% and 52% were obtained for λ=1.3 and 1.4 μm emission, respectively, indicating that nonradiative processes are significantly reduced in the quantum well at λ=1.3 μm due to reduced N-H complex formation. These Fabry-Perot lasers also show high characteristic temperatures of T₀ =122 K and 100 K at λ=1.3 and 1.4 μm, respectively, as well as a low emission wavelength temperature dependence of (0.39±0.01) nm/°C over a temperature range of from 10°C to 60°C     

2-μm GaInSb-AlGaAsSb distributed-feedback lasers

Room temperature continuous-wave operation of 2-μm single-mode InGaSb-AlGaAsSb distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers has been realized. The laser structure has been grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Single-mode DFB emission is obtained by first-order Cr-Bragg gratings on both sides of the laser ridge. For a cavity with 900 μm length and 4 μm width, the threshold currents are around 20 mA and the continuous-wave output power is 10 mW at a drive current of 200 mA at 20°C. Monomode emission with sidemode suppression ratios of 31 dB has been obtained     

LD optical switch with polarization insensitivity over a widewavelength range

A double-heterostructure (DH) laser with TM mode lasing has been achieved with a narrow active-layer width, and a laser-diode optical switch (LDSW) module with less than a 0.35-dB gain difference between the TE and TM modes over a wide wavelength range has been constructed by introducing a square bulk active layer formed by dry etching and regrowth. The polarization-insensitive width of a 0.3-μm-thick DH laser is clarified to be between 0.30 and 0.35 μm, since the 0.30- and 0.35-μm-wide DH lasers lase in the TM mode and TE mode, respectively. The polarization-insensitive width of the fabricated 0.3-μm-thick LDSW is estimated to be about 0.32 μm for the fabricated LDSW with a trapezoidal active layer by measuring the single-pass gain and the gain difference between the TE and TM modes. This must be to within 0.01 μm. A 0.35-μm-wide, 300-μm-long LDSW module has lossless gain in the wavelength range of 1.31 to 1.36 μm at 20 mA. The gain difference between the TE and TM modes is as low as 0.35 dB, The rise and fall times are 1.0 and 0.55 ns, respectively. The bulk active-layer LDSW module is promising for use as a polarization-insensitive optical-gate switch in optical information systems     

Spectroscopy and diode laser-pumped operation of Tm,Ho:YAG

Spectroscopic measurements and analysis of diode laser-pumped operation of Tm,Ho:YAG at 2.1 μm at room temperature have been performed. The peak effective stimulated emission cross section is measured to be 9×10^-21 cm² at 2.091 μm and the upper state lifetime is 8.5 ms. Under diode laser pumping, thresholds of 4.4 mW of absorbed power and slope efficiency of 19% have been demonstrated. Calculations of threshold power are performed based on the spectroscopic measurements. An energy transfer upconversion process is identified which leads to a sublinear rise in upper-state population with pump power     

Single-mode AlGaAs-GaAs lasers using lateral confinement bynative-oxide layers

We report on results of wet oxidized narrow-stripe QW laser diodes operating in single lateral and longitudinal mode around an emission wavelength of 850 nm. Devices with an active width of 4-10 μm achieved output powers of up to 240 mW in continuous-wave (CW) operation at room temperature     

High-power semiconductor edge-emitting light-emitting diodes foroptical low coherence reflectometry

A new semiconductor source was designed for optical low coherence reflectometry, increasing the sidelobe-free dynamic range by three to five orders of magnitude compared to conventional EELED's. Reflectivities internal to an optical fiber circuit separated by as much as eight orders of magnitude can now be detected at wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 μm, using compact semiconductor sources. For applications not requiring sidelobe-free operation, the same devices can be operated at high current (200 mA) and low temperatures (near 0°C) to produce nearly 1 mW of 1.5 μm emission coupled into single-mode fiber. The resulting wavelength spectrum is smooth, enabling fiber-based absorption spectral measurements     

Performance and reliability of InGaAsP superluminescent diode

The performance and reliability of a 1.3-μm superluminescent diode (SLD) with a novel structure are reported. A window structure with a tapered active layer is applied to suppress lasing oscillation. A V-groove structure is introduced to achieve high coupling efficiency into a single-mode fiber. The design of optimized device dimensions allows SLD operation to be obtained even at 0°C. 1.3 mW is coupled into a single-mode fiber at 150 mA and 25°C. The spectral modulation depth is 15% over the entire emission spectral width of 32 nm. The operating life of a SLD has been estimated from the results of accelerated aging carried out for 5000 h at the ambient temperatures of 50 and 125°C. The activation energy of degradation is estimated to be 0.58 eV, and the extrapolated life is 10⁶ h at an ambient temperature of 25°C     

Photonic-crystal distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers

Because of an intrinsically low linewidth-enhancement factor, the quantum cascade laser (QCL) is especially favorable for patterning with a recently proposed 2-D photonic crystal (PC) lattice that substantially increases the device area over which optical coherence can be maintained. In this work, we use an original time-domain Fourier-transform (TDFT) algorithm to theoretically investigate the beam quality and spectral purity of gain-guided PC distributed-feedback (DFB) quantum cascade lasers. The conventional 1-D DFB laser and also the angled-grating DFB (α-DFB) laser are special cases of the PCDFB geometry. By searching the parameter space consisting of tilt angle, coupling coefficients, stripe width, and cavity length, we have theoretically optimized the PCDFB gratings for QCL gain regions. At a wavelength of 4.6 μm, the simulations project single-mode emission from stripes as wide as 1.2 mm, and etendues of no more than three times the diffraction limit for 2-mm stripes. We also examine the tolerances required for single-mode and high-brightness operation. Comparisons are made to analogous simulations of a-DFB QCL lasers     

Frequency stabilization of 1.55 μm DFB laser diode usingvibrational-rotational absorption of 13C2H2 molecules

The vibrational-rotational absorption of ¹³C₂H₂ molecules (VRAMs) in the 1.52-1.55 μm region was investigated in detail. On the basis of this investigation, frequency stabilization of 1.55-μm distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diodes was demonstrated. Frequency stability to within 2 MHz peak/peak fluctuation was achieved at the 1.54949-μm wavelength. In addition, frequency stabilizations in the wavelength regions of 1.53 μm and 1.54 μm were also carried out by using the strong absorption lines of ¹³C₂H₂ VRAM in these wavelength regions. The spectral width of the frequency-stabilized DFB laser diode was found to be 25 MHz. The absolute frequency was found to be stabilized at least to within 25 MHz by the measurement of beat spectrum     

Cathodoluminescence Study of InGaN/GaN Quantum-Well LED Structures Grown on a Si Substrate

Crack-free InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) light-emitting diode (LED) structures were grown on a patterned Si substrate. Spatially resolved cathodoluminescence was studied on these LED wafers. Cathodoluminescence (CL) emission spectra at room temperature and low temperature (82 K) were measured. A main LED peak (∼2.7 eV) and an additional peak (∼3.1 eV) in the emission spectra at 82 K were observed. Using CL spectra mapping measurements on a cross section of the sample, it can be clearly seen that the ∼3.1 eV emission comes from the interfacial layer between the p-AlGaN and the QWs. This observation was further verified by comparing spectra of specific points on the cross section by line scanning. The origin of such emission is discussed. Cathodoluminescence images, emission spectra, and x-ray energy dispersion spectra (EDS) showed that the In composition at a specific corner of the mesa was higher than that in the rest of the mesa. Such macroscopic inhomogeneity might be caused by gas dynamics on the patterned substrate.     

Characteristics of erbium-doped superfluorescent fiber sources forinterferometric sensor applications

The characteristics of 1.55 μm Er-doped superfluorescent fiber sources (SFS's), intended for fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) applications, are explored theoretically and experimentally. With proper selection of the source configuration, fiber length, pump wavelength, pump power, and fiber composition, we show that it is possible to meet the stringent requirements of the FOG, including a high output power, broad emission bandwidth, and excellent spectral thermal stability. Variations of the mean wavelength, spectral width, and output power of the SFS with fiber length, pump power, pump wavelength, and temperature are modeled for representative sources pumped near 980 nm or 1.48 μm, and are shown to be in good agreement with experimental results. The effects of a multimoded pump, erbium ion pair, and optical feedback are also assessed. This study indicates that the Er-doped SFS is an excellent candidate for the FOG and for other applications requiring spatial coherence and low temporal coherence     

Very low threshold current density room temperature continuous-wavelasing from a single-layer InAs quantum-dot laser

Continuous-wave (CW) lasing operation with a very low threshold current density (J_th=32.5 A/cm²) has been achieved at room temperature by a ridge waveguide quantum-dot (QD) laser containing a single InAs QD layer embedded within a strained InGaAs quantum well (dot-in-well, or DWELL structure). Lasing proceeds via the QD ground state with an emission wavelength of 1.25 μm when the cavity length is longer than 4.2 mm. For a 5-mm long QD laser, CW lasing has been achieved at temperatures as high as 40°C, with a characteristic temperature T₀ of 41 K near room temperature. Lasers with a 20 μm stripe width have a differential slope efficiency of 32% and peak output power of >10 mW per facet (uncoated)     

Temperature dependence of the excited- state absorption of alexandrite

The temperature dependence from 28 to 290°C of the excited-state absorption cross sectionsigma_{2a}(E)in the gain wavelength region of alexandrite has been determined from the temperature dependence of the single pass gain (SPG) and of the fluorescence.sigma_{2a}(E)and the emission cross section increase with temperature at approximately the same rate.     

Long-wavelength (λ=10 μm) quadrupolar-shaped GaAs-AlGaAsmicrolasers

In this paper, we present experimental results of our investigations on deformed GaAs-AlGaAs microlasers emitting around λ=10 μm. These quantum cascade lasers exhibit interesting features regarding the threshold current densities, optical output, and far-field pattern. A slight aberration from a circular cross section decreases the threshold current density for microlasers (which have a radius of 50 μm). For larger deformations ϵ, the threshold starts to increase because of the increasing mirror losses. For smaller microlasers (radii between 22 and 34 μm), the threshold current density increases already for slight deformations due to the increase of the mirror losses. The experimental results can be fitted very well with the mirror losses as a fitting parameter using a well-known and simple model. Threshold currents as low as 170 mA are measured for a cylindrical microlaser with a radius of 22 μm. The peak optical output is increasing quasi-exponentially with rising deformation. Lasing emission from slightly concave resonator shapes is detected. The bow-tie mode and other modes-different from Whispering-gallery modes-are responsible for highly directed emission along the diagonal axis and along the short axis, respectively, of the microlasers. Single-mode emission with a side-mode suppression ratio larger than 25 dB is shown over the entire drive current range for a highly deformed microlaser. The laser line can be temperature tuned with Δν/T=-0.027 cm^-1/K. A dual mode switching depending on the drive current with a mode spacing of Δν=8.1 cm^-1 between 999 and 1007.1 cm^-1 is observed for a less deformed microlaser     

High resolution OCDR using 1.55 μm supercontinuum source andquadrature spectral detection

A supercontinuum source is used with a static Michelson interferometer to perform high-resolution optical coherence-domain reflectometry (OCDR) at 1.55 μm. Quadrature spectral detection enables compensation for both the undesirable spectral shape of the source and for the dispersion in the system. A resolution of less than 5 μm in fibre (full width at half maximum) at 1.55 μm is obtained     

Nanoliter volume, high-resolution NMR microspectroscopy using a60-μm planar microcoil

Previous studies demonstrated the feasibility of using 100-μm inner diameter planar spiral inductors (microcoils) as detectors in ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) microspectroscopy. However, high-resolution NMR applications were not possible due to poor spectral resolution and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These limitations in performance have now been largely overcome by using a nonconductive liquid fluorocarbon (FC-43) to minimize the effects of susceptibility mismatch between materials, and by carefully optimizing the microcoil geometry for maximum SNR. In this study, liquid samples were loaded into a fused silica capillary (75-μm inner diameter, 147-μm outer diameter). The capillary was positioned 50 μm above a 3.5-turn microcoil so that approximately 1 nL of the sample was present in the sensitive region of the microcoil. The microcoil was fabricated on a gallium arsenide substrate with an inner diameter of 60 μm, an outer diameter of 200 μm, trace width of 10 μm, trace spacing of 10 μm, and trace height of 3 μm. At 5.9 T (250 MHz) in ¹H-NMR microspectroscopy experiments using a spectral width of 1 kHz, 4096 sampled data points, and a recovery delay of 1 s, a SNR of 25 (per acquisition) and a spectral linewidth of less than 2 Hz were obtained from a sample of water. These results demonstrate that planar microcoils can be used for high-resolution NMR microspectroscopy. Such coils may also be suitable for localized NMR studies at the cellular level and as detectors in capillary electrophoresis or microbore liquid chromatography