Amplification of ultrashort optical pulses in semiconductor laser amplifiers is shown to result in considerable spectral broadening and distortion as a result of the nonlinear phenomenon of self-phase modulation (SPM). The physical mechanism behind SPM is gain saturation, which leads to intensity-dependent changes in the refractive index in response to variations in the carrier density. The effect of the shape and the initial frequency chirp of input pulses on the shape and the spectrum of amplified pulses is discussed in detail. Particular attention is paid to the case in which the input pulsewidth is comparable to the carrier lifetime so that the saturated gain has time to recover partially before the trailing edge of the pulse arrives. The experimental results, performed by using picosecond input pulses from a 1.52- mu m mode-locked semiconductor laser, are in agreement with the theory. When the amplified pulse is passed through a fiber, it is initially compressed because of the frequency chirp imposed on it by the amplifier. This feature can be used to compensate for fiber dispersion in optical communication systems. >

Self-phase modulation and spectral broadening of optical pulses in semiconductor laser amplifiers

With simple optical geometries a separate resonant Fabry-Perot cavity can serve as an optical feedback element that forces a semiconductor laser automatically to lock its frequency optically to the cavity resonance. This method is used to stabilize laser frequencies and reduce linewidths by a factor of 1000 from 20 MHz to approximately 20 kHz.

Frequency stabilization of semiconductor lasers by resonant optical feedback

The theory of nondegenerate four-wave mixing (NDFWM) in semiconductor lasers and amplifiers is presented with particular emphasis on the physical processes that lead to population pulsations. In the case of nearly degenerate four-wave mixing, modulation of the carrier density at the beat frequency Ω of the pump and probe waves creates a dynamic population grating whose effectiveness is governed by the spontaneous carrier lifetime τs. Such a grating affects both the gain and the refractive index of the probe wave. In particular, the probe gain exhibits features analogous to those observed in a detuned atomic system arising from the optical Stark effect. Both the gain grating and the index grating contribute to NDFWM, with the dominant contribution coming from the index grating. For detunings such that Ωτs ≫ 1, population pulsations correspond to modulation of the intraband population arising from spectral hole burning. Our results show that NDFWM is then limited by the phase-mismatch effects governed by the transit time τ rather than by the intraband population-relaxation time T1. Significant NDFWM is expected to occur for detunings up to about 300 GHz for typical transit-time values of 3 psec in semiconductor lasers.

Population pulsations and nondegenerate four-wave mixing in semiconductor lasers and amplifiers

A review of recent advances in semiconductor laser based gas monitors

Polarization-state selection, polarization-state dynamics, and polarization switching of a quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) for the lowest order transverse spatial mode of the laser is explored using a recently developed model that incorporates material birefringence, the saturable dispersion characteristic of semiconductor physics, and the sensitivity of the transitions in the material to the vector character of the electric field amplitude. Three features contribute to the observed linearly polarized states of emission: linear birefringence, linear gain or loss anisotropies, and an intermediate relaxation rate for imbalances in the populations of the magnetic sublevels. In the absence of either birefringence or saturable dispersion, the gain or loss anisotropies dictate stability for the linearly polarized mode with higher net gain; hence, switching is only possible if the relative strength of the net gain for the two modes is reversed. When birefringence and saturable dispersion are both present, there are possibilities of bistability, monostability, and dynamical instability, including switching by destabilization of the mode with the higher gain to loss ratio in favor of the weaker mode. We compare our analytical and numerical results with recent experimental results on bistability and switchings caused by changes in the injection current and changes in the intensity of an injected optical signal.

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Polarization properties of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

The objective of this paper is to present an overview of topics related to one of the fundamental parameters for semiconductor lasers-the linewidth broadening factor α that describes the coupling between carrier-concentration-induced variations of real and imaginary parts of susceptibility. After introducing the definition of α and discussing its dependence on carrier concentration, photon energy, and temperature, we give a short historical summary on how the concept of α evolved over the past two decades. This is followed by a discussion of α dependence on device structure in gain-guided and subdimensional lasers (quantum wells and quantum wires). The bulk of the paper is devoted to a detailed review of laser properties influenced by α and of associated methods of estimating the value of α. Results of measurements reported to date are collected and the most reliable methods are indicated.

J. Buus

Papers

Linewidth broadening factor in semiconductor lasers--An overview