Carrier plasma shift in GaInAsP photonic crystal point defect cavity

A 1.43-/spl mu/m-GaInAsP photonic crystal slab with a point defect cavity and line defect waveguides has been fabricated. A /spl sim/1.5 /spl mu/m-wavelength light is inserted into the waveguide and the cavity resonant spectrum observed. A 5.6 nm blue shift in the resonant peak arising from the carrier plasma effect by photopumping is also observed. These results will be applicable to all-optical switches and tunable devices.     

Characteristics of a photonic crystal defect waveguide-coupled quantum-dot photodiode

We have investigated the characteristics of an In/sub 0.4/Ga/sub 0.6/As self-organized quantum-dot (QD) resonant-cavity photodiode. The QD epitaxy and the design of the two-dimensional photonic crystal cavity are tailored for 1.3-/spl mu/m wavelength operation. The input excitation to the photodiode is provided with an in-plane defect waveguide designed with the same photonic crystal. The measured spectral photocurrent characteristics reflect mode coupling between the waveguide and detector and the resonant cavity effect due to total internal reflection and photonic bandgap confinement. The photocurrent response is explained with a model involving the circulating fields in the cavity. The characteristics are also dependent of cavity size. Enhancement and narrowing (/spl sim/ 10 nm) of the photoresponse at /spl lambda//spl sim/1.3 /spl mu/m are observed. A spectral dip, of /spl sim/ 10-nm width, also observed at 1.3 /spl mu/m is possibly due to the anticrossing mechanism, uniquely present in photonic crystal waveguides.     

Design and fabrication of zinc oxide thin-film ridge waveguides on silicon substrate with ultraviolet amplified spontaneous emission

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin-film ridge waveguides have been designed and fabricated on n-type (100) silicon substrate. A filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique is used to deposit high-crystal-quality ZnO thin films on lattice-mismatched silicon substrates at 230/spl deg/C. A ridge waveguide of width /spl sim/2 /spl mu/m and height /spl sim/0.1 /spl mu/m is defined on the ZnO thin film by plasma etching. Room-temperature amplified spontaneous emission is observed with peak wavelength at /spl sim/385 nm under 355-nm optical excitation. It is found that the net optical gain of the ZnO thin-film ridge waveguides can be as large as 120 cm/sup -1/ at a pump intensity of /spl sim/1.9 MW/cm/sup 2/.     

Compact fully fibre integrated source of 100 fs pulses at 1.1 /spl mu/m based on compression in holey fibre

A simple, compact, fully fibre integrated source of /spl sim/100 fs pulses at a wavelength of 1.1 /spl mu/m is reported. 4 ps pulses at 1063 nm from a modelocked fibre laser were amplified to 23 mW in a ytterbium-doped fibre amplifier and subsequently propagated through 62 m of holey fibre with a zero dispersion wavelength at 1040 nm. Soliton formation, breakup and self frequency shift resulted in the formation of /spl sim/100 fs pulses at 1.1 /spl mu/m. Wavelength tunability from 1113 to 1220 nm is demonstrated.     

Wide wavelength tuning of sampled grating tunable twin-guide laser diodes

Tuning characteristics of widely tunable twin-guide (TTG) laser diodes with sampled gratings (SGs) are reported. Two SGs, providing slightly different reflection spectra, enable wide tunability by means of Vernier effect tuning. The device structure is vertically integrated and, hence, a DFB-like laser is obtained, which makes a phase tuning section unnecessary and facilitates easy and fast device characterisation. Although the tuning section can tune the SG reflection spectra by only /spl sim/2 nm, an overall tuning range of 28 nm has been achieved by employing Vernier effect tuning. Within the aforementioned tuning range, five supermodes are usable and can be tuned continuously without any mode-hops. The lasers operate at /spl sim/1.55 /spl mu/m wavelength and achieve a maximum output power of 12 mW.     

A 43-W C-band tunable narrow-linewidth erbium-ytterbium codoped large-core fiber laser

The authors report a widely tunable and highly efficient cladding-pumped erbium-ytterbium codoped large-core fiber laser, generating up to 43 W of output power at /spl sim/1.5 /spl mu/m with a narrow linewidth (0.16-nm full-width at half-maximum) and a good beam quality (M/sup 2/<1.7). By use of a tunable narrow-band fiber Bragg grating, the laser wavelength was tuned from 1532 to 1567 nm, limited upwards by the tuning range of the fiber grating. The overall slope efficiency was 32% with respect to launched pump power.     

Interdigitated Ge p-i-n photodetectors fabricated on a Si substrate using graded SiGe buffer layers

We report an interdigitated p-i-n photodetector fabricated on a 1-/spl mu/m-thick Ge epitaxial layer grown on a Si substrate using a 10-/spl mu/m-thick graded SiGe buffer layer. A growth rate of 45 /spl Aring//s/spl sim/60 /spl Aring//s was achieved using low-energy plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The Ge epitaxial layer had a threading dislocation density of 10/sup 5/ cm/sup -2/ and a rms surface roughness of 3.28 nm. The 3-dB bandwidth and the external quantum efficiency were measured on a photodetector having 1-/spl mu/m finger width and 2-/spl mu/m spacing with a 25/spl times/28 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ active area. At a wavelength of 1.3 /spl mu/m, the bandwidth was 2.2, 3.5, and 3.8 GHz at bias voltages of -1, -3, and -5 V, respectively. The dark current was 3.2 and 5.0 /spl mu/A at -3 and -5 V, respectively. This photodetector exhibited an external quantum efficiency of 49% at a wavelength of 1.3 /spl mu/m.     

Long resonator micromachined tunable GaAs-AlAs Fabry-Perot filter

We present novel concepts for tunable optical filters. Long resonant cavities of about 30-/spl mu/m length have been realized with two-chip designs. GaAs technology has been applied to filters that are designed for the use in dense wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) at wavelengths around 1550 nm. A finesse of 46.7, a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 1.2 nm and electrostatic tuning over a range of 103 nm with an applied voltage of 35 V has been achieved. An alternative tuning concept that allows to tune the resonator length 4 /spl mu/m by heating Ni-Cr resistors placed on the suspending beams of a membrane with an applied voltage of 2.7 V has been realized.     

Long-wavelength resonant vertical-cavity LED/photodetector with a 75-nm tuning range

A design for a highly tunable long-wavelength LED/photodetector has been investigated. The device consists of a GaAs-based distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) that is wafer-bonded to InP-based active layers, with a surface-micromachined tunable top DBR mirror to produce the wavelength shift. A 1.5-/spl mu/m device has been fabricated with a continuous tuning range of 75 nm. An extinction ratio of greater than 20 dB existed across the entire tuning range.     

Midinfrared holmium fiber lasers

The use of the high-power Tm/sup 3+/-doped silica fiber laser as a pump source for Ho/sup 3+/-doped silica and Ho/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber lasers for the generation of 2.1-/spl mu/m radiation is demonstrated. The Ho/sup 3+/-doped silica fiber laser produced a maximum output power of 1.5 W at a slope efficiency of /spl sim/82%; one of the highest slope efficiencies measured for a fiber laser. In a nonoptimized but similar fiber laser arrangement, a Ho/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber laser produced an output power of 0.38 W at 2.08 /spl mu/m at a slope efficiency of /spl sim/50%. A Raman fiber laser operating at 1160 nm was also used to pump a Ho/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber laser operating at a wavelength of 2.86 /spl mu/m. An output power of 0.31W was produced at a slope efficiency of 10%. The energy transfer upconversion process that depopulates the lower laser level in this case operates at a higher efficiency when the pump wavelength is closer to the absorption peak of the /sup 5/I/sub 6/ energy level, however, this energy transfer process does not impede to a great extent the performance of the Ho/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber laser based on the /spl sim/2.1/spl mu/m laser transition.     

Design and performance of thin metal film interconnects for skin-like electronic circuits

We prepare stretchable electrical conductors of 25-nm-thick gold films on elastomeric substrates prestretched by 15%. When the substrates relax from the prestretch, the gold stripes form surface waves with /spl sim/8.4-/spl mu/m wavelength and /spl sim/1.2-/spl mu/m amplitude. When the strain is cycled between 0 and 15%, both the wave pattern and the electrical resistance of the gold stripes change in reproducible cycles. Such repeatedly stretchable metallization can serve as interconnects for skin-like, conformal, and electroactive polymer circuits.     

1.4-/spl mu/m InGaAsP-InP strained multiple-quantum-well laser for broad-wavelength tunability

InGaAsP-InP strained multiple-quantum-well (MQW) lasers for extended wavelength tunability in external cavity operation were designed, fabricated, and tested. The active layer was a strain compensated structure consisting of three 3.2/spl plusmn/0.3 nm and three 6.4/spl plusmn/0.3 nm 1.0% compressive strained wells and five 10.3/spl plusmn/0.3 nm 0.45% tensile strained barrier layers. A 2-/spl mu/m-wide ridge waveguide laser of length 250 /spl mu/m, when used in a grating external cavity and with no coatings to alter the reflectivity of the facets, was observed to operate over a range >110 nm. The lasers were designed for applications in trace gas and liquid detection with the goal to maximize the tunable range when operated in external cavities and with no facet coatings.     

Variable numerical-aperture temporal-coherence measurement of resonant-cavity LEDs

The first interferometric measurements of temporal-coherence length variation with numerical aperture (NA) are described for 650 nm, resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes (LEDs) agreeing with spectrally derived results. The interferometrically measured coherence length (22 /spl mu/m to 32 /spl mu/m) reduced by 37% for a 0.42 increase in NA. For a larger range of NA (0-1), this would give coherence lengths (10 /spl mu/m-40 /spl mu/m) lying in the gap between that of conventional LEDs (/spl sim/5 /spl mu/m) and superluminescent diodes (/spl sim/60 /spl mu/m).     

Electron beam direct-write tunable polymeric waveguide grating filter

We report a tunable electron beam direct-write polymeric waveguide Bragg grating filter based on a negative tone epoxy, The waveguide filter, with a 5-mm-long first-order grating, exhibits a transmission peak of -27 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of /spl sim/0.8 nm, and there is an excellent agreement between experimental data and simulation results. The temperature response of the filter is also characterized. The rate of change of refractive index dn/dT is /spl sim/ -1.8 /spl times/ 10/sup -4///spl deg/1C at 1550-nm wavelength for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations, and the rate of change of peak wavelength d/spl lambda//dT is /spl sim/ -0.14 nm//spl deg/C. The tuning performance is comparable to other grating devices fabricated using multiple processing steps.     

Micro-mechanically tunable long wavelength VCSEL with buried tunnel junction

A novel two-chip concept for an electrically pumped and micro-electro-mechanically tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, with an emission wavelength in the 1.5 /spl mu/m range, is presented. Continuous tuning over 30 nm in singlemode operation has been shown.     

Wideband quantum-dash-in-well superluminescent diode at 1.6 /spl mu/m

We demonstrate broadband superluminescent diode at /spl sim/1.6-/spl mu/m peak emission wavelength using InAs-InAlGaAs quantum-dash-in-well structure on InP substrate. The fabricated device exhibits the close-to-Gaussian emission with a bandwidth of up to 140 nm. The device produces a low spectrum ripple of 0.3dB and an integrated power of 1.7 mW with the corresponding bandwith of 110 nm measured at 20 /spl deg/C under 8 kA/cm/sup 2/.     

A 5-6-GHz polyphase filter with tunable I/Q phase balance

A tunable polyphase filter with integrated input and output buffers was designed and fabricated in a 0.4 /spl mu/m SiGe BiCMOS technology with a 5-6-GHz bandwidth. Series tunable capacitors (varactors) provide phase tunability for the differential quadrature outputs of the polyphase filter. The tunable phase can be used to improve image rejection in Weaver or Hartley architectures, or mitigate in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) phase error in direct conversion or low-IF receivers. The die area of the fabricated circuit with pads is 920 /spl mu/m/spl times/ 755 /spl mu/m. Based on measurements, approximately 15/spl deg/ of I/Q phase imbalance can be tuned out using the fabricated polyphase filter, proving the concept of tunable phase. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported tunable I/Q balance polyphase network.     

MEMS-tunable 1.55-/spl mu/m VCSEL with extended tuning range incorporating a buried tunnel junction

We present an electrically pumped and micromechanically tunable InP-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser operating in the 1.55-/spl mu/m wavelength range. The current confinement is achieved by a buried tunnel junction. The GaAs-based movable top mirror membrane is fabricated separately, assembled on top of the device, and can be actuated electrothermally. A single mode output power of about 1.7 mW and a tuning range of 28 nm was obtained. By the use of an antireflection coating at the semiconductor-air-interface, we were able to extend the tuning range up to 60 nm as expected from one-dimensional simulations.     

Nondegenerate four-wave mixing wavelength conversion in low-loss passive InGaAsP-InP quantum-well waveguides

Results on wavelength shifters based on four-wave mixing that operate in the 1.5-/spl mu/m regime are reported. These devices utilize the near-bandedge resonant enhancement in the third-order nonlinearity in passive InGaAsP-InP quantum-well waveguides. Over the erbium-doped fiber-amplifier gain band approximately -20 dB conversion efficiency was obtained with /spl ap/18-dBm CW pump power. The conversion efficiency was nearly constant for wavelength shifts up to /spl ap/26 nm (3.3 THz), limited by the phase-matching bandwidth of the 8.5-mm-long device.     

High-nonlinearity dispersion-shifted lead-silicate holey fibers for efficient 1-/spl mu/m pumped supercontinuum generation

This paper reports on the recent progress in the design and fabrication of high-nonlinearity lead-silicate holey fibers (HFs). First, the fabrication of a fiber designed to offer close to the maximum possible nonlinearity per unit length in this glass type is described. A value of /spl gamma/=1860 W/sup -1//spl middot/km/sup -1/ at a wavelength of 1.55 /spl mu/m is achieved, which is believed to be a record for any fiber at this wavelength. Second, the design and fabrication of a fiber with a slightly reduced nonlinearity but with dispersion-shifted characteristics tailored to enhance broadband supercontinuum (SC) generation when pumped at a wavelength of 1.06 /spl mu/m-a wavelength readily generated using Yb-doped fiber lasers-are described. SC generation spanning more than 1000 nm is observed for modest pulse energies of /spl sim/ 100 pJ using a short length of this fiber. Finally, the results of numerical simulations of the SC process in the proposed fibers are presented, which are in good agreement with the experimental observations and highlight the importance of accurate control of the zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) when optimizing such fibers for SC performance.