Investigation of broad-band quantum-well infrared photodetectorsfor 8-14-μm detection

Typical quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) exhibit a rather narrow spectral bandwidth of 1-2 μm. For certain applications, such as spectroscopy, sensing a broader range of infrared radiation is highly desirable. In this paper, we report the design of four broad-band QWIPs (BB-QWIPs) sensitive over the 8-14-μm spectral range. Two n-type BB-QWIPs, consisting of three and four quantum wells of different thickness and/or composition in a unit cell which is then repeated 20 times to create the BB-QWIP structure, are demonstrated. The three-well n-type In_xGa_1-xAs-Al_yGa_1-yAs BB-QWIP was designed to have a response peak at 10 μm, with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidth that varies with the applied bias. A maximum bandwidth of Δλ/λ_p=21% was obtained for this device at V_b=-2 V. The four-well n-type In_xGa_1-xAs-GaAs BB-QWIP not only exhibits a large responsivity of 2.31 A/W at 10.3 μm and V_b=+4.5 V, but also achieves a bandwidth of Δλ/λ_p=29% that is broader than the three-well device. In addition, two p-type In _xGa_1-xAs-GaAs BB-QWIPs with variable well thickness and composition, sensitive in the 7-14-μm spectral range, are also demonstrated. The variable composition p-type BB-QWIP has a large FWHM bandwidth of Δλ/λ_p=48% at T=40 K and V_b=-1.5 V. The variable thickness p-type BB-QWIP was found to have an even broader FWHM bandwidth of Δλ/λ _p=63% at T=40 K and V_b=1.1 V, with a corresponding peak responsivity of 25 mA/W at 10.2 μm. The results show that a broader and flatter spectral bandwidth was obtained in both p-type BB-QWIP's than in the n-type BS-QWIP's under similar operating conditions     

Dependence of Ti-diffused Er:LiNbO3 laser efficiency onwaveguide fabrication parameters and pump wavelength

The mode size, effective pump area, and coupling efficiency as function of initial Ti-stripe width W, diffusion temperature T, and initial Ti-stripe thickness H in c-cut Ti-diffused Er:LiNbO₃ waveguide laser have been studied theoretically, taking into account optical pumping λ_p=1.477 μm and 0.98 μm. The main features of the mode sizes in terms of these diffusion parameters were collected and, as compared with the experimental results, a qualitative agreement has been achieved. The effective pump areas exhibit both significant initial Ti-stripe width and diffusion temperature dependence, especially for W>9 μm and T>1050°C, whereas the initial Ti-stripe thickness can hardly give influence when pumping with λ_p=0.98 μm radiation. On the other hand, coupling efficiency is approximately unchanged with values 0.76-0.78 for λ_p=1.477 μm and 0.8-0.85 for λ _p=0.98 μm, indicating that there are no optimized values of these parameters to increase slope efficiency through coupling efficiency. Moreover, the 0.98 μm pumping reveal lower threshold and higher coupling efficiency than 1.477-μm pumping. Finally, the appropriate waveguide fabrication parameters were proposed for the fabrication of a more efficient laser     

Efficient second harmonic conversion of broad-band high-peak-powerNd:glass laser radiation using large-aperture KDP crystals in quadrature

The authors have investigated the second-harmonic conversion efficiency of broadband Nd:glass laser light (Δν/c<30 cm^-1 FWHM). Using two KDP crystals in a quadrature arrangement, they obtain energy conversion efficiencies of ≈55% with an initial bandwidth for the fundamental of Δν/c≈17 cm^-1 FWHM. For these conditions, a modest increase (≈70%) was observed in the harmonic bandwidth (FWHM) relative to the fundamental. The usual theory of three-wave mixing in dispersive birefringent nonlinear crystals is extended to describe the broadband harmonic conversion process; the generalized theory includes the statistical properties of the light and phase mismatch effects on the spectral components in the complex field amplitudes. Good agreement is found between the code calculations and the measurements     

Dependence of the frequency shift of the optical-microwave doubleresonance signal in the Cs D2 line on the pumpingfrequency and power of a GaAs semiconductor laser

The OMDR (optical-microwave double resonance) effect in the Cs D₂ line was studied for realizing a gas-cell-type Cs atomic frequency standard. A glass cell containing Cs with buffer gases (Ar/N₂=1.26, total pressure=39 torr) was placed in a TE₀₁₂ mode microwave cavity at a temperature of 45°C and was pumped using a GaAs semiconductor laser frequency locked to an external interferometer tuned to the 6P_3/2 (F=2,3,4)←6 S_1/2(F=3) transition. The OMDR signal appearing at the resonance to the F=4←3 hyperfine transition of the 6S_1/2 state shifted with detuning of the laser frequency and with change of the laser and microwave powers. The dependence of the shift on these variables around an optimum operating condition was obtained as, Δν_MW[Hz]=-(0.31±0.02) {1+(0.44±0.15) (ΔP_L/P_L)} Δν_L [MHz]-10(ΔV_MW/V _MW)     

The asymptotics of optimal (equiripple) filters

For equiripple filters, the relation among the filter length N+1, the transition bandwidth Δω, and the optimal passband and stopband errors δ_p and δ_s has been a secret for more than 20 years. This paper is aimed at solving this mystery. We derive the exact asymptotic results in the weight-free case δ_p=δ_s=δ, which enables us to interpret and improve the existing empirical formulas. Our main results are finally combined into a formula. In the transition band, the filter response is discovered to be asymptotically close to a scaled error function. The main tools are potential theory in the complex plane and asymptotic analysis     

Fluorescence and laser operation in single-mode Ti-diffusedNd:MgO:LiNbO3 waveguide structures

The spectral properties of the guided-wave Nd fluorescence and results of laser oscillation in Ti-indiffused single-mode Nd:MgO:LiNbO ₃ waveguides and waveguide cavities, respectively, are reported. The splitting and polarization behavior of the fluorescence lines around 0.9, 1.08, and 1.37 μm were studied. Using a single-mode diode laser as a pump source (λ_p=814.6 nm), an oscillation threshold in an 8-mm-long structure of 2.1-mW absorbed pump power has been obtained. An output power up to 310 μW (limited by the available pump power), a slope efficiency of 16% at power levels >150 μW, and an emission linewidth of 0.21 nm (at λ_s=1085 nm) have been measured     

Limiter-discriminator detection of a coherent optical heterodyneM-ary CPFSK receiver

The performance of a coherent optical M-ary continuous-phase frequency-shift-keying (CPFSK) receiver using limiter-discriminator (L-D) detection is investigated. It is shown that L-D detection of CPFSK optical signals offers the best performance for a large normalized IF beat spectral linewidth, ΔνT. When the modulation index is unity, the receiver is immune to laser phase noise and can produce (M/4) exp (-SNR) symbol error probability, which may be considered as the upper bound if the optimal modulation index is used (SNR is the signal-to-noise ratio per symbol). Optimum modulation indexes are 0.8 and 1 at ΔνT=1% and ΔνT=2%, respectively, for M=4, 8, and 16     

Efficient upconversion by a frequency factor between two and threeusing an optical parametric oscillator

We present the theory of a scheme for frequency up-conversion from pump frequency ω_p to a desired frequency ω_d between 2ω_p and 3ω_p. The proposed device consists of three nonlinear crystals in series inside a cavity resonating light at a signal frequency ωs. Sum-frequency generation (SFG) in the first crystal produces the desired radiation, ω_s+ω_p=ω_d. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) in the second crystal doubles the frequency of the residual pump, 2ω_p=ω_h, while the signal passes through unaffected. Optical parametric oscillation (OPO) in the third crystal generates the signal and idler frequencies, ω_h=ω_s+ω. A plane-wave analysis predicts a quantum efficiency close to 30% over an extended range of pump intensity. Iteration of the plane-wave solutions over many passes yields dynamics very similar to that recently calculated for the SFG-OPO device. As in that device, a small detuning of the SFG interaction enlarges the dynamic range yielding stable operation. Highest efficiency occurs when ω_i is at the low-frequency end of the OPO crystal transmission window. As an example, we consider a device using a noncritically phase-matched KTP SFG crystal, a quartz crystal polarization rotator, an angle-tuned KTP SHG crystal, and a noncritically phase-matched LiNbO₃ OPO crystal. This device is designed to convert λ_p=1.064 μm to λ_d=0.455 μm. We calculate a power conversion efficiency as great as 73%     

主振荡功率放大激光器中锥度光纤相位共轭镜的实验研究

锥度光纤作为相位共轭镜具有高反射率、高保真度等优点，将3根自制的、规格不同的锥度光纤相位共轭镜应用在重复频率100Hz，脉宽28ns的激光二极管(LD)抽运的高功率脉冲激光主振荡功率放大器(MOPA)系统中，对其受激布里渊散射(SBS)性能以及锥度区尺寸的影响进行了研究。结果表明，芯径大于400μm的大尺寸锥度光纤可以应用于高功率激光系统中，如选择较长的后端光纤长度以及适当的锥度区规格可获得较高的受激布里渊散射能量反射率和输出能量。在应用总长5．2m，锥度区从φ400μm过渡到φ200μm的锥度光纤时，实验获得了高达85％的受激布里渊散射能量反射率和大于21mJ的双通输出能量，激光脉宽被压缩到17ns，最大峰值功率达到兆瓦量级。     

CO2 laser stabilization to 0.1-Hz level using externalelectrooptic modulation

We have developed a frequency stabilization scheme for CO₂ lasers using only external modulation via an electrooptic modulator (EOM). One of the two laser sidebands which are generated by the EOM and frequency-modulated is set in resonance with a Fabry-Perot cavity, itself filled with OsO₄ as an absorber. The saturation signal of an OsO₄ line detected in transmission of the Fabry-Perot cavity is used for stabilization. We obtained a stability of 0.1 Hz (Δν/ν=3.5 10^-15) on a 100-s time scale, and a reproducibility up to 10 Hz with the strongest OsO₄ reference lines. These results largely improve the performance of our previous setup for which modulation was applied through piezoelectric transducers. Further, the stabilized laser is not frequency-modulated and is easily tunable     

High-nonlinearity fiber optical parametric amplifier with periodicdispersion compensation

Theory shows that the maximum gain and bandwidth of one-pump fiber optical parametric amplifiers made from high-nonlinearity fiber, operated with a pump wavelength λ_p far from the fiber zero-dispersion wavelength λ₀ can greatly be improved by periodic dispersion compensation. We have performed experiments and obtained good agreement with theory: for λ_p=1542 and λ₀=1591 nm, we have increased the bandwidth from 7 to 28 nm, and the maximum gain from 15 to 20 dB, by splicing three pieces of standard fiber at regular intervals in a 40-m long nonlinear fiber     

Dispersion of waves guided along a cylindricalsubstrate-superstrate layered medium

The effects of curvature and of the electrical parameters of thin dielectric layers deposited as superstrates on a perfectly conducting circular cylinder on the modal dispersion of waves guided tangentially along the outer (superstrate) layer of a two-layer geometry are examined. To chart the propagation characteristics of the layer-guided modes relevant to the three-dimensional (dipole-excited) Green's function for this geometry, it is necessary to solve the radial eigenvalue problem for the complex azimuthal propagation constants ν _p(β), p 1, 2, . . ., which also identify poles of the ν-dependent spectral integrand of the Green's function. Here, β is the spectral variable along the axial direction, with the Green's function synthesized as a double spectral integral over ν and β. The pole locations are obtained numerically by solving the dispersion equation using Davidenko's method, and are parameterized in terms of layer radius, dielectric constant, and thickness. The dispersion relation, and hence the propagation constants, are shown to reduce correctly to the corresponding results for the planar geometry in the limit where the superstrate outer radius approaches infinity     

色散泵浦对受激布里渊散射反射率的影响

将宽带KrF激光通过棱镜进行色散,在气压约为2×106Pa的SF6介质中进行受激布里渊散射的实验研究.通过与没有经过色散的KrF激光进行对比,得到经过色散后的KrF激光作为泵浦光比没有经过棱镜色散的KrF激光作为泵浦光产生SBS的反射率高.     

Performance of coherent ASK lightwave systems with finiteintermediate frequency

The impact of finite intermediate frequency (IF) on the performance of heterodyne ASK lightwave systems is examined and quantified in the presence of laser phase noise and shot noise. For negligible linewidths, it is shown that certain finite choices of IF (R _b,3R_b/2,2R_b,5R_b/2, etc.) lead to the same ideal bit-error-rate (BER) performance as infinite choices of IF. Results indicate that for negligible linewidths the worst case sensitivity penalty is 0.9 dB for proper heterodyne detection and occurs when f_IF=1.25 R_b. For nonnegligible linewidths (e.g., when ΔνT⩾0.04) the sensitivity penalty is always less than 0.9 dB for finite choices of IF. The analysis presented does lead to a closed-form signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) expression at the decision gate of the receiver which can readily be used for BER and sensitivity penalty computations. The SNR expression provided includes all the key system parameters of interest such as system bit rate (R_b), the peak IF SNR (ξ), laser linewidth (Δν), and the IF filter expansion factor (α). The findings of this work suggest that the number of channels in a multichannel heterodyne ASK lightwave system can be increased substantially by properly choosing a small value for the IF at the expense of a small penalty <1 dB. On the negative side, IF frequency stabilization becomes a more critical requirement in multichannel systems employing small values of IF     

低反光纤光栅对光纤激光器光谱展宽影响研究

光纤激光器中的自相位调制(SPM)以及低功率下的空间烧孔效应(SHB)会导致输出光谱展宽。分析了SPM、SHB导致光谱展宽的理论模型,讨论了低反光纤光栅(OC)的带宽与反射率对激光器输出光谱展宽的影响。实验研究了不同输出功率下激光器输出光谱随OC带宽及反射率的变化关系。结果表明减小OC带宽能够有效减缓SPM、SHB导致的输出光谱展宽;减小OC反射率能降低SPM导致的输出光谱展宽速度,却促进了SHB导致的光谱展宽;但相同改变量的情况下,OC带宽所带来的影响较反射率更为显著。实验结果与理论分析一致,对光谱合束及窄线宽高功率光纤激光器的设计与应用具有重要意义。     

Asymptotic behavior of the scattering solutions for a multilayeredsphere

The asymptotic behavior of the scattering solutions for a point source radiating in the presence of a N-layered sphere is studied. A spectral integral representation is used to represent the potentials and the fields. The scattering solutions are approximated by the residue series arising from the poles of the integrand in the complex-order plane (v-plane). A diffraction factor D₀ (v_p) is used to determine the significance of each pole in the evaluation of the scattering solutions. Numerical results illustrate the dependence of D₀(ν_p) on the geometric parameters and material properties. Results for multilayered cylinders are included for comparison     

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%     

Gain and saturation intensity of the green Ho:ZBLAN upconversionfiber amplifier and laser

The gain and saturation intensity of the green Ho-doped fluorozirconate (ZBLAN) glass fiber amplifier and laser, pumped in the red (643 ⩽ λ_p ⩽ 649 nm; ⁵F₅ ← ⁵I₈), have been measured. For a 2.4-μm core diameter fiber 45 cm in length, the single-pass gain at 543.4 nm exceeds 12 dB for 90 mW of pump power at 643.5 nm. The saturation power for the ⁵F₄, ⁵S₂ → ⁵I₈ lasing transition was determined from gain measurements to be 970 ± 175 μW, which corresponds to a saturation intensity of 19.8 ± 3.5 kW · cm^-2 , and a stimulated emission cross section approximately one order of magnitude larger than theoretical estimates     

Spectral purity and long-term stability of CO2 lasers atthe Hertz level

Ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy and metrology require very stable lasers with a high-spectral purity. For spectroscopy with a resolution in the range 10-100 Hz at 30 THz, we are developing a new stabilization scheme which acts separately on the long and short term stabilities. We present the results achieved with the first part of our new scheme, which is based upon the stabilization on a saturation signal detected in transmission of an active Fabry-Perot cavity. With a laser linewidth of 3.4 Hz (FWHM) and a flicker plateau of 0.7 Hz (Δν/ν=2.10^-14) obtained using a strong OsO₄ line as reference, this stabilization system already improves the both short and long-term stabilities obtained by our previous setup which involved an external cell instead of a Fabry-Perot cavity. We present also the results using a CO₂ laser line as frequency reference     

Impact of finite frequency deviation on the performance ofdual-filter heterodyne FSK lightwave systems

A detailed theoretical analysis is given of the impact of finite frequency deviation on the sensitivity of dual-filter heterodyne frequency-shift-keying (FSK) lightwave systems. The analysis provides closed-form signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) results for estimating the bit-error-ratio (BER) performance of the system. These closed-form results provide an insight into the impact of finite frequency deviation 2Δf_d, laser linewidth Δν, bit rate R_b, and IF filter bandwidths on the system performance. Simulation results indicate that the accuracy of the approximate theory presented is within 1 dB for linewidths up to 22% when BER=10^-9. It is shown that there is a well-defined relationship between the choice of frequency deviation and the tolerable amount of laser phase noise. The sensitivity degradation can be very severe for a fixed linewidth as the frequency deviation gets smaller