被动锁模产生半导体激光PS超短脉冲

本文报道利用质子轰击激光二极管端面产生可饱和吸收层,实现半导体激光被动锁模,获得12.9ps光脉冲的实验,并讨论轰击深度和外腔长度对锁模脉冲的影响.     

Bistable operation of semiconductor lasers by optical injection

Bistable operation in InP/InGaAsP DH lasers by optical injection is reported for the first time. An incident optical beam, generated by a conventional DH semiconductor laser, was injected into the semiconductor laser with inhomogeneous excitation. Bistability has been achieved in the relation between input intensity of the incident beam and the optical output intensity of the inhomogeneously excited laser. The bistable laser also acts as an optical limiter, i.e. the optical output completely saturates above the laser threshold level.     

Theoretical analysis of heterodyne optical receivers for transmission systems using (semiconductor) lasers with nonnegligible linewidth

We present a general theoretical model of receivers for coherent optical communication systems where transmitters and local oscillators having nonzero linewidth are used. Key issues in the model are the concept of single realization measurements of a stochastic intermediate frequency, and development of the probability density function for this stochastic process. Analytical results are derived for heterodyne ASK and dual filter FSK receivers and include the shot-noise limit, the asymptotic error-probability limits in ASK and FSK receivers, the influence of the IF on receiver noise, and the effective local oscillator strength. Detailed numerical results for typical p-i-n-FET wide-band receivers illustrate the influence on receiver sensitivity of IF filter bandwidth and relative threshold setting in ASK systems and of modulation index and IF filter bandwidth in FSK systems. A receiver sensitivity penalty for nonzero linewidth is found to be, for IF linewidths of 0.1 to 0.3 of the bit-rate, 3 to 9 dB in optimum ASK receivers, and 2 to 8 dB in optimum FSK receivers. Thus DFB lasers of linewidth 5 to 20 MHz could be used without external cavities in simple systems with near-ideal performance, which could find application wherever the great multiplexing advantage of coherent systems is a prime advantage. We present some guidelines for system design based on the results of this work.     

Internal optical loss in semiconductor lasers

Internal optical loss in high-power semiconductor lasers based on quantum-well separate-confinement heterostructures was studied. Calculations show that the major portion of the internal optical loss occurs in the active region and emitters. Making the laser waveguide thicker and the cavity longer reduces the internal optical loss. Two possible approaches to the design of laser heterostructures are considered, and optimal solutions are suggested. The difference in the internal optical loss between lasers on InP and those on GaAs substrates is attributed to the larger cross section of photon absorption by holes in InP. Good agreement between the calculated and experimental values of the internal optical loss in lasers on InP and GaAs substrates is obtained.     

Optical heterodyne detection of directly frequency modulated semiconductor laser signals

Frequency modulated semiconductor laser signals are demodulated by optical heterodyne detection using an independently temperature stabilised semiconductor laser local oscillator and a square law detector followed by electrical frequency discrimination circuitry. Beat frequency stability of the free-running semiconductor laser transmitter and local oscillator and characteristics of direct frequency modulation and optical heterodyne detection are delineated.     

Coherent optical pumping of semiconductor lasers

The influence of coherent optical pumping in semiconductor lasers is investigated theoretically. In particular the mathematical conditions under which an optically pumped system behaves like an electrically (incoherently) pumped system are derived. We show that it is practically impossible to reach the interesting regime where coherent effects are important because of the inherent constraints to absorb photons at the pump frequency and to reach threshold gain at the lasing frequency. The effects of changing the temperature and of reduced dimensionality are discussed     

Optical FSK signal detection in a heterodyne system using semiconductor lasers

A 10?8 bit error rate is achieved for 100 Mbit/s signals in an FSK heterodyne frequency-discrimination detection system, in which AlGaAs double-heterostructure lasers are used as both the FSK transmitter and the local oscillator. Receiving signal power level to achieve a low bit error rate is experimentally obtained, which confirms the principle of optical heterodyne detection. AM quantum noise in the laser local oscillator and FM quantum noise are important factors which determine the system performance.     

Suppressing mode hopping in semiconductor lasers by orthogonal-polarization optical feedback

Mode hopping is characterized by a stochastic exchange of power between two longitudinal modes of a laser, inducing a high-level intensity noise in the laser's output. This investigation proposes an orthogonal-polarization optical feedback (OPF) method to suppress mode hopping in semiconductor lasers. Experimental results indicated that, under some operating conditions, mode hopping could be completely suppressed by an OPF of around -29.3 dB in feedback ratio while the laser was conducted into a single-mode state. Moreover, the mode-hopping region was significantly reduced, enabling the laser's wavelength to be tuned continuously over a wider range. These results can be used to greatly improve the performance of semiconductor lasers.     

Self-coupled phenomena of semiconductor lasers caused by an optical fiber

Output intensity noise spectra of semiconductor lasers coupled to optical fibers with end-butt joints are measured to show periodic peaks with a fundamental frequency decided only by the fiber length. The frequency is found to coincide with the reciprocal of the roundtrip time of the light beam in the optical fibers.     

光纤耦合光双稳半导体激光器的研究

介绍一种紧凑的、能以较低输入光功率工作的光学双稳器件,由光电检测器、光纤定向耦合器和半导体激光二极管组合而成的。描述了工作原理,解释所观测到的一些效应,例如滞后回线、微分增益以及记忆功能。     

Multiwavelength lasers based on semiconductor optical amplifiers

Stable multiwavelength lasing is demonstrated with a novel laser, in which a semiconductor optical amplifier offers optical gain and cascaded sampled fiber gratings serve as a comb filter. Five lasing lines are obtained with a fixed wavelength spacing of 0.8 nm. Optical power fluctuations among the lasing lines are improved by adjusting the reflectivity profile through the cascade of two sampled gratings     

Linking two optical frequency combs by heterodyne optical phaselocking between diode lasers at 2.6-THz frequency-difference

Two optical frequency combs (OFC) with total span of 8 THz have been realized and linked by injecting two laser beams into one OFC generator. Two lasers whose frequencies were separated by 2.6 THz were heterodyne phase-locked to link the two combs. The phase-locked loop bandwidth was 1 MHz and the phase error variance was estimated to be 0.08 rad²     

Temporal coherence properties of picosecond pulses generated by GaAlAs semiconductor lasers for directly modulated and frequency stabilized optical communication systems

The temporal coherence properties of picosecond pulses from GaAlAs semiconductor lasers have been studied by measuring first- and second-order autocorrelation functions with a Michelson interferometer. The time-bandwidth product and chirp have been evaluated for several different laser structures and frequency stabilization schemes. Time-bandwidth products from 1.2 for a CSP laser to 3.6 for a TJS laser were obtained with operating conditions representative of high-speed communication systems. Computer simulations based on the rate equations have been used to model the temporal coherence during the pulse and they show good agreement with our measurements. The results show that it is important to select the appropriate laser structure and stabilization scheme in applications where the temporal coherence is significant for system performance.     

The effect of spurious intensity modulation in semiconductor diode lasers on the performance of optical heterodyne frequency shift-keyed communications systems

Analytical expressions are derived for the bit-error rate (BER) of anM-ary frequency shift-keyed (FSK), heterodyne, optical communication system with noncoherent demodulation in the presence of spurious intensity modulation (SIM) and frequency noise. The SIM degradation of an FSK system, implemented with semiconductor diode lasers, is estimated for lasers with zero and nonzero linewidths and will be discussed for a distributed feedback laser operating at 1.5μm and a channeled substrate planer laser operating at 0.83 μm. The SIM power penalty is typically less than 1 dB, but can exceed 1 dB for 2-, 4-, and 8-ary FSK at data rates above 1 Gbit/s.     

光反馈对半导体激光器动态频率漂移的抑制

本文提出了光反馈抑制半导体激光器动态频率漂移的概念,给出了解析表达式,并指出,在适当的反馈条件下,光反馈可以极大地抑制这种动态频率漂移.     

Coherent optical interference effects in external-cavity semiconductor lasers

A broadening of the apparent linewidth of the semiconductor laser modes with external optical feedback is observed. This is shown to be due to the coherent nature of the feedback and multiple reflections in the external cavity. A theory for the steady-state behavior of the external-cavity semiconductor laser taking into account such coherent optical effects is developed. The inclusion of these effects is also important in the interpretation of the threshold data of such lasers.     

Spectral characteristics of semiconductor lasers with optical feedback

Optical feedback-induced changes in the output spectra of several GaAlAs lasers operating at 0.83 μm are described. The feedback radiation obtained from a mirror 60 cm away from the laser is controlled in intensity and phase. Spectral line narrowing or broadening is observed in each laser depending on the feedback conditions. Minimum linewidths observed with feedback are less than 100 kHz. Improved wavelength stability is also obtained with optical feedback resulting in 15 dB less phase noise. An analytical model for the three-mirror cavity is developed to explain these observations.     

Mode partition in semiconductor lasers with optical feedback

The authors point out that random noise processes induce mode partition fluctuations in semiconductor lasers. Mode partition depends on laser parameters and modulation current. However, external optical feedback can also increase mode partition noise. Here, a numerical solution of multimode noise-driven rate equations with time-delayed terms is utilized to investigate mode partition in semiconductor lasers with reflecting feedback. Photon statistics of the main and side modes in semiconductor lasers under both CW operation and dynamic operation are considered. Probability-density curves for the main and side modes are shown. The feedback-induced change of photon statistics of the main and side modes is clearly seen. Numerical results indicate that, if the laser used is exposed to reflections, a more stringent mode discrimination requirement for suppressing the buildup of laser-cavity longitudinal side modes may result. If mode discrimination is insufficient for avoiding the excitation of side modes, the feedback-induced power penalty depends on the fiber dispersion     

Reduction of optical phase noise in semiconductor lasers

There are several applications of highly coherent semiconductor lasers, especially in coherent optical-fibre communications systems and optical-fibre sensors. Optical phase noise is extremely important in these applications. Here we report preliminary results from a simple technique whereby phase noise in semiconductor lasers may be reduced. Initial results demonstrate a phase-noise reduction of typically 20 dB. Developments of the technique should permit reduction towards the shot noise limit.     

Digital optical signal processing with polarization-bistable semiconductor lasers

The operations of a complete set of optical AND, NAND, OR, and NOR gates and clocked opticalS-R, D, J-K,andTflip-flops are demonstrated, based on direct polarization switching and polarization bistability, which we have recently observed in InGaAsP/InP semiconductor lasers. By operating the laser in the direct-polarization-switchable mode, the output of the laser can be directly switched between the TM00and TE00modes with high extinction ratios by changing the injection-current level, and optical logic gates are constructed with two optoelectronic switches or photodetectors. In the polarization-bistable mode, the laser exhibits controllable hysteresis loops in the polarization-resolved power versus current characteristics. When the laser is biased in the middle of hysteresis loop, the light output can be switched between the two polarization states by injection of short electrical or optical pulses, and clocked optical flip-flops are constructed with a few optoelectronic switches and/or photodetectors. The 1 and 0 states of these devices are defined through polarization changes of the laser and direct complement functions are obtainable from the TE and TM output signals from the same laser. Switching of the polarization-bistable lasers with fast-rising current pulses has an instrument-limited mode-switching time on the order of 1 ns. With fast optoelectronic switches and/or fast photodetectors, the overall switching speed of the logic gates and flip-flops is limited by the polarization-bistable laser to < 1 ns. We have demonstrated the operations of these devices using optical signals generated by semiconductor lasers. The proposed schemes of our devices are compatible with monolithic integration based on current fabrication technology and are applicable to other types of bistable semiconductor lasers.