Above-Threshold Spectrum of the Radiation Field in Surface-Emitting DFB Lasers

This paper addresses the above-threshold analysis of the amplified spontaneous emission spectrum of the radiation field in surface-emitting distributed feedback (DFB) lasers with a second-order grating. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first report in this regard. The analysis takes advantage of the time- and frequency-domain approaches. The essence of this method is obtaining the spectrum of the laser power using the fields in the frequency domain, whereas the above-threshold carrier distribution inside the cavity is obtained by the finite-difference time-domain approach. The use of this approach can be justified by the fact that the wave equations in the time and frequency domains are related by the Fourier transform. Applying this method to the surface-emitting DFB lasers with a second-order grating, the authors will demonstrate that excitation of the radiation field by the interference between the counter-propagating waves inside the cavity provides additional filtering mechanism, which makes the side-mode suppression ratio of the power emitted from the surface different than that from the edge. More importantly, it is shown that the interesting features of a properly designed quarter-wave phase-shifted surface-emitting DFB lasers with a second-order grating can be exploited in the design of transmitters for optical communications     

Dynamic analysis of radiation and side-mode suppression in asecond-order DFB laser using time-domain large-signal traveling wavemodel

In this paper, we have developed a relatively simple algorithm to calculate the large-signal dynamic response of DFB lasers by solving the time-dependent coupled wave equations directly in the time domain. The spontaneous emission noise, longitudinal variations of carrier (hole burning) and photon densities as well as that of the refractive index are taken into consideration. To demonstrate the power of this straightforward algorithm, the model shows how the side-mode suppression ratio in devices with high κL and a λ/4: phase shift is significantly affected by the radiation in the second-order DFB laser. The time-dependent radiation pattern in grating-coupled surface-emitting lasers is also calculated for the first time     

Second-order distributed feedback polymer laser based on holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal grating

We report on the fabrication and characterization of a second-order distributed feedback (DFB) polymer laser based on a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) transmission grating. The fine organic grating is fabricated on top of the homogeneous conjugated polymer layer in a one-step process. The device shows surface-emitting, single mode laser emission with a threshold of 13.3 μJ/cm², and the working characteristics merely degrade after 10 months of storage in ambient atmosphere. We further explain the dependence of threshold on pumping length, and demonstrate the small refractive index modulation of this all-organic grating is sufficient to maintain efficient DFB laser action. This simple working structure, combined with large processing area provided by the holographic polymerization technique, is extremely promising in realizing ultra-low cost plastic lasers.     

Theoretical and experimental study of second-order distortions inCATV DFB laser diodes

Calculation of linearity performances of a given DFB laser is a well-known problem when working with CATV AM-VSB optical links. In this paper, a nonlinear model of the DFB laser is presented. The bias and frequency dependence of second order intermodulation distortion is analyzed by combining Volterra models of the laser leakage current and rate equations. The prediction of the model is then compared to distortion measurements with a maximum discrepancy of around 1.5 dB     

具有表面二阶金属光栅的927nm分布反馈半导体激光器的研制

采用全息光刻和湿法腐蚀光栅技术,成功制备了表面二阶金属光栅宽条型分布反馈（DFB）半导体激光器,无需二次外延生长过程,实现了宽接触室温直流下大范围稳定单纵模工作。腔面未镀膜器件,在脉冲工作条件下,注入电流为2．28A时,单面输出功率大于600mW,斜率效率达0．37mW／mA,功率效率大于11％。在连续电流注入下,当注...     

Polarization optical bistability induced by TM mode injection to aDFB laser with complex coupled coefficient

A novel method is proposed to produce an optical bistability by using a dynamically stable complex coupled DFB (CC-DFB) laser with TM mode injection. In this paper polarization optical bistabilities are analyzed in detail using coupled mode equations and rate equations for the CC-DFB lasers considering the longitudinal hole burning and carrier dependent complex coupling coefficients. Several parameters reflecting the physical features of a complex coupled DFB laser are discussed. It is shown that for a CC-DFB laser the polarization bistability induced by the TM mode injection is much stronger for the antiphase of complex coupling than that for the in-phase. In addition, the influences of initial coupling condition for gain grating structure on the optical bistability are also investigated considering both cases of the antiphase and in-phase     

Suppression of fringe diffraction in localized holographic exposurefor DFB laser arrays

A six-wavelength MQW DFB laser array emitting around 1.55 μm realized in a single holographic lithography is described. Fringe-free localized grating isolation is attained using a mask with a novel aperture-edge design. The first-order grating periods as well as the ridge locations can be varied in a large span. The high throughput of holographic lithography is extended to multiwavelength DFB arrays     

Circularly symmetric distributed feedback laser: coupled modetreatment of TE vector fields

The vector orientation of transverse electric (TE) fields in deriving coupled mode equations for radially outward- and inward-going modes in a circular waveguide diffraction grating is treated. The equations are derived for cylindrical waves in a system that is translationally invariant along the cylinder axis; the derivation is then extended to the waveguide geometry. The coupled mode equations are used to describe the operation of the circularly symmetric distributed feedback (DFB) laser. While predicting a similar dependence of the laser threshold gain on an azimuthal mode order to that found by a simpler, scalar-field treatment, the vector-field treatment predicts a fundamental difference in the location of the cavity resonances. The circular DFB laser is expected to lase in multiple azimuthal modes but maintain a relatively narrow overall spectral width     

Influence of facet reflection on the performance of a DFB laserintegrated with an optical amplifier/modulator

The influence of output facet reflection on characteristics of a monolithically integrated optical device consisting of a distributed feedback (DFB) laser and an optical amplifier/modulator is analyzed. Basic equations used for the analysis are the characteristic equation for a DFB laser and the rate equations. As a result, it is known that static and dynamic properties of such optical integrated devices are seriously degraded by the optical feedback from the output facet. It is concluded that the power reflectivity of the output facet should be reduced to at least less than 0.1% for the integrated region to work as an optical amplifier and less than 0.01% as an intensity modulator     

Amplified spontaneous emission in narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillators--Theory and experiment

We have investigated the effect of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) on the spectral and temporal characteristics of narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillators. The space and time dependent rate equations for the molecular populations and photon fluxes have been solved numerically to study the dependence of ASE on various laser parameters and the effects of ASE on the spectral and temporal profile of the dye laser output. To account for the diffraction losses present in a real dye laser oscillator, appropriate feedback factors for the laser and ASE photon fluxes were introduced into the boundary conditions for the oscillator. These theoretical results have been substantiated by experimental measurements of ASE in a narrow-band pulsed dye laser oscillator. We show that a considerable reduction of ASE in a grazing incidence grating dye laser oscillator can be obtained by appropriately shaping the pump pulse. Oscillations observed in the temporal output of pulsed dye lasers are also discussed.     

Measurement of the swept-frequency carrier-induced FM response of asemiconductor laser using an incoherent interferometric technique

The swept frequency deviation response of a distributed feedback (DFB) laser is measured using an incoherent interferometric technique. Unlike previous interferometric techniques, this technique is independent of the phase relationship between the optical fields in the two interferometer paths. The theoretical background is discussed, and measurements yielding an FM deviation response of ±1 dB from 0.1 to 2.9 GHz with an efficiency of ~300 MHz/mA are reported for a 1.55-μm DFB laser     

Analysis of TM-polarized DFB laser structures with metal surfacegratings

An analysis of distributed feedback (DFB) laser structures with metallized surface grating structures in TM polarization is presented. The modal properties of these structures are described using coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from rigorously computed on-resonant Floquet-Bloch solutions of the waveguide grating problem. Based on this theory, first- and second-order DFB quantum cascade laser structures operating at a wavelength of 10 μm are investigated numerically. We show that, utilizing a metal stripe grating structure, second-order laser structures are feasible showing efficient surface emission, whereas radiation into the substrate is strongly suppressed. The fraction of stimulated emission power being emitted via the surface can be as high as 17.5% whereas a low threshold gain of 20 cm^-1 is maintained     

全息干涉法刻制分布反馈(DFB)激光器光栅

利用全息干涉的方法,在10×15mm~2面积上制作了适合于分布反馈(DFB)激光器的一级和二级光栅,其周期分别为2300 和4600 ,工艺重复性能良好。     

Numerical simulation of intensity and phase noise from extracted parameters for CW DFB lasers

A self-consistent numerical approach is demonstrated to analyze intensity and phase noise from experimentally extracted parameters for a continuous-wave distributed feedback (DFB) laser. The approach takes into account the intrinsic fluctuations of the photon number, carrier number, and phase. Values for the parameters appearing in the rate equations are extracted from the measured relative intensity noise spectra and linewidth of the laser. The simulation of the frequency spectra of intensity and phase noise of the DFB laser are performed by fast Fourier transform and exhibit good agreement with experimental results. The model presented here can readily be extended for the purpose of system simulations.     

Analysis of radiation mode effects on oscillating properties of DFBlasers

The effects of radiation mode on the oscillating properties of distributed feedback (DFB) lasers with second-order corrugations are analyzed for designing a new type of DFB laser. A formulation based on the transfer matrix technique is applied to calculating Streifer's ζ-terms added to the coupled-wave equations. These terms represent the effects of radiation and evanescent modes. This formulation greatly simplifies the analysis of distributed resonance along multilayered waveguide structures with arbitrary-shaped second-order corrugations. The effects of vertical resonance are also incorporated into the formulation. Various types of DFB lasers with phase-shifted second-order corrugations are analyzed using this method. It is found that the phase shift and the blaze of the corrugations greatly affect the longitudinal mode selectivity. A new phase-shift DFB laser structure with two complementary blazing regions connected at the shift is proposed. It is demonstrated that this structure has small radiation loss resulting in low-threshold performance despite employing second-order corrugations     

Transmission characteristics of DFB laser modules for analogapplications

Analog transmission characteristics of highly linear 1.3- and 1.55-μm distributed feedback (DFB) laser modules are described. To obtain high-power and high-performance DFB lasers, the bias dependence of distortion characteristics is discussed. The carrier-to-noise ratio, the composite second-order distortion, and the composite triple beat of the DFB laser module which is developed for analog CATV applications are presented. The analog transmission characteristics, such as CNR degradation, after fiber transmission, dispersion-induced distortion, and the influence of reflection, have been made clear. The stable high linearity of the DFB laser also has been confirmed by the composite distortion measurement under an accelerated aging test     

Computer simulation of laser photon fluctuations: DFB lasers

This fourth paper of the Series is devoted to photon fluctuations in the light output of distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. Statistics on laser photon fluctuations are collected from numerical solutions of noise driven rate equations. The approximate formula for the variance of the photon fluctuations, presented earlier [1], is also applicable to the DFB laser. Compared to the single-cavity injection laser, the DFB laser has the following features. 1) The order of magnitude of the photon fluctuations of the single lasing mode of a DFB laser is comparable to the fluctuations of the total power output of a single-cavity laser. 2) Contrary to single-cavity lasers, which cannot be made to Operate in a single longitudinal mode even under idealized conditions if they are driven by short current pulses, DFB lasers will readily deliver a single, pulsed mode. Thus, if thermal effects and backreflection of scattered light can be controlled, there will be no mode jumping during pulsed operation.     

QKD系统中DFB激光器的可调偏置驱动

基于分布反馈式(DFB)半导体激光器的特性,为满足量子密钥分发(QKD)系统研究中对光源的多种需求,设计了一种1550 nm波长的DFB激光器的精密可调偏置驱动方案。该方案以FPGA为控制核心,用上位机软件控制输入,可给DFB激光器提供0~50 mA的精密偏置直流,从而完成光源不同发光模式间的切换,QKD系统中的多种光源需求得以满足。     

A cascade pumped picosecond dye laser system

A picosecond dye laser system producing 4 μJ in a 10 ps pulse is described. This highly stable compact system consists of a nitrogen laser and two cascade pumped dye laser oscillators followed by one amplifier. The Roess-Lin cavity transient technique was applied to compress the input 60 μJ 300 ps N2pulse twice to produce a final output duration of 10 ps. Discrete output wavelengths can be varied by changing the dye laser solution. Spectral and temporal measurements were performed to characterize this laser. A broad spectral emission of ∼ 160 cm^-1was observed, consistent with the observed fine temporal structures of 0.09 ps. A model rate equations calculation was also performed with parameters pertinent to the present laser system. This picosecond laser system should find applications in testing and calibration in the picosecond timescale.