Deterioration of taper lens performance due to taper asymmetry

The influence of rotationally asymmetrical, i.e. bent drawn, fiber tapers on the coupling performance of taper lenses used for laser diode- or LED-to-single-mode-fiber coupling is investigated. It is found by experiments that the lateral offset of the taper tip with respect to the fiber axis should be below ≈6 μm if a significant increase in coupling loss is to be avoided. The experimental results are interpreted by numerical simulations applying the beam propagation method     

Self-aligned flat-pack fibre-photodiode coupling

The authors report on a novel fibre-photodiode coupling assembly on a silicon chip, which is characterised by negligible coupling loss, simple (passive) prealignment and low fabrication cost     

A cathodoluminescence study of the influence of the seed particle preparation method on the optical properties of GaAs nanowires

Cathodoluminescence at 8?K is used to compare the optical properties of AlGaAs-capped GaAs nanowires, grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy and seeded by gold particles prepared by different methods. Six different methods were used to fabricate and deposit gold seed particles onto GaAs substrates: colloid particles, aerosol particles and particles defined by electron beam lithography. The nanowires were grown with and without an in?situ annealing step prior to the nanowire growth. The morphology showed no significant differences between the nanowires. The emissions from ensembles of nanowires have the same peak position, irrespective of seed particle type. Without the in?situ annealing step prior to the nanowire growth, there are significant differences in the emission intensity and emission patterns from nanowires grown from different seed particles. When an in?situ annealing step is included, all the resulting nanowires show identical optical emission intensity and emission patterns. This shows the importance of using an in?situ annealing step prior to growth. This study demonstrates that different preparation methods for gold seed particles can be used to produce GaAs nanowires with highly similar optical properties. The choice of particle preparation method to be used can therefore be based on availability and cost.     

Single-mode fiber WDM unit for duplex subscriber link using asubstrate with embossed alignment grooves

A wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) unit for single-mode fiber (SMF) duplex transmission, with light source, photodiode (PD), and WDM coupler arranged on a common substrate, is described. Using a tolerant optical design, the optical elements, e.g. lenses and fibers, are positioned in embossed high-precision V grooves without active adjustments. Only the light source, a laser diode (LD) or an edge-emitting LED (ELED), must be aligned for optimum coupling and fixed by laser welding. Typical values of LD-to-fiber and fiber-to-PD coupling loss and crosstalk are 5 dB, 1.2 dB, and -44 dB, respectively. Hence, in spite of the potentially low-cost design, the optical performance of the device is virtually competitive with separated transmitter and receiver units     

Application of finite element method and SPICE simulation fordesign optimization of oven-controlled crystal oscillators

Thermal finite element method (FEM) calculations and SPICE-based dynamic thermal models are used to simulate and optimize the static and dynamic performance of miniaturized oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs). FEM can be used to generate the values of the SPICE circuit elements. Good agreement is achieved between simulation and measurement. Several application examples, including directly heated OCXOs, are discussed     

Simultaneous growth mechanisms for Cu-seeded InP nanowires

We report on epitaxial growth of InP nanowires (NWs) from Cu seed particles by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Vertically-aligned straight nanowires can be achieved in a limited temperature range between 340 °C and 370 °C as reported earlier. In this paper we present the effect of the V/III ratio on nanowire morphology, growth rate, and particle configuration at a growth temperature of 350 °C. Two regimes can be observed in the investigated range of molar fractions. At high V/III ratios nanowires grow from a solid Cu₂In particle. At low V/III ratios, nanowire growth from two particle types occurs simultaneously: Growth from solid Cu₂In particles, and significantly faster growth from In-rich particles. We discuss a possible growth mechanism relying on a dynamic interplay between vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) and vapor-solid-solid (VSS) growth. Our results bring us one step closer to the replacement of Au as seed particle material as well as towards a deeper understanding of particle-assisted nanowire growth.      

The use of gold for fabrication of nanowire structures

A common application of nanometer-sized gold particles is as seed particles for growth of semiconductor nanowires, which are believed to act as highly promising building blocks in future electronic devices. In a majority of the reports of successful nanowire growth, gold has been the seed particle material of choice. In this review article we identify the different types of gold particles used to initiate nanowire growth, namely gold particles made from thin films, gold particles defined by lithographic methods, colloidal gold particles and aerosol-generated gold particles. The production and deposition methods are described and the advantages and disadvantages of the particle types are discussed. In addition we discuss different properties that seem to make gold the most universal material for nanowire seed particles.     

Pulse-reflection method for transmission-loss measurement of optical fibres

A method for attenuation measurement of optical fibres by pulse reflections at the fibre's end is described. This method may be suitable for evaluating the attenuation of optical-fibre cables in the field.     

Wide passband grating multiplexer for multimode fibers

A grating multiplexer in Littrow-configuration is presented, whose passband width-normalized to channel spacing-is comparable with grating demultiplexers. As shown by calculation, a wide passband is attainable by very small input fiber spacing. Using a standard-(50/125 mum)-GI-fiber as transmission fiber, a 1-dB pass-band of 30 nm with a channel spacing of 46 nm is achieved in an 8- channel device. The insertion losses for each channel are in the range 1.4-2.5 dB for 8- or 10-channel devices.     

A comparative study of the effect of gold seed particle preparation method on nanowire growth

Highly controlled particle-assisted growth of semiconductor nanowires has been performed for many years, and a number of novel nanowire-based devices have been demonstrated. Full control of the epitaxial growth is required to optimize the performance of devices, and gold seed particles are known to provide the most controlled growth. Successful nanowire growth from gold particles generated and deposited by various different methods has been reported, but no investigation has yet been performed to compare the effects of gold particle generation and deposition methods on nanowire growth. In this article we present a direct comparative study of the effect of the gold particle creation and deposition methods on nanowire growth characteristics and nanowire crystal structure, and investigate the limitations of the different generation and deposition methods used.