Showing papers in "IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics in 1997"

Laser ablation and micromachining with ultrashort laser pulses

Abstract: The mechanisms of ultrashort-pulse laser ablation of materials are discussed, and the differences to that of long laser pulses are emphasized. Ultrashort laser pulses offer both high laser intensity and precise laser-induced breakdown threshold with reduced laser fluence. The ablation of materials with ultrashort pulses has a very limited heat-affected volume. The advantages of ultrashort laser pulses are applied in precision micromachining of various materials. Some femtosecond laser pulse micromachining results, including comparison with long pulses, are presented. Ultrashort-pulse laser micromachining may have a wide range of applications where micrometer and submicrometer feature sizes are required.

Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers

Abstract: The ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier offers a number of attractive features, including a broad-gain bandwidth and a high efficiency, due in large part to its freedom from various competing processes seen in other rare-earth dopants. Here we discuss the main features that influence design and possible applications of ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers.

Resonant grating waveguide structures

Abstract: Under certain conditions, a resonance phenomenon can occur in waveguide grating structures. Such structures have multilayer configuration, the most basic of which is comprised of a substrate, a thin dielectric layer or semiconductor waveguide layer, and an additional transparent layer in which a grating is etched. When such a structure is illuminated with an incident light beam, part of the beam is directly transmitted and part is diffracted and subsequently trapped in the waveguide layer. Some of the trapped light is then rediffracted outwards, so that it interferes destructively with the transmitted part of the light beam. At a specific wavelength and angular orientation of the incident beam, the structure "resonates"; namely, complete interference occurs and no light is transmitted. This paper reviews previous investigations on the resonance phenomena and presents analytic and numerical models for evaluating the resonance as a function of the geometric and optical parameters of the structures and incident radiation.

Polarization properties of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Abstract: 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.

Self-focusing and guiding of short laser pulses in ionizing gases and plasmas

Abstract: Several features of intense, short-pulse (/spl lsim/1 ps) laser propagation in gases undergoing ionization and in plasmas are reviewed, discussed, and analyzed. The wave equations for laser pulse propagation in a gas undergoing ionization and in a plasma are derived. The source-dependent expansion method is discussed, which is a general method for solving the paraxial wave equation with nonlinear source terms. In gases, the propagation of high-power (near the critical power) laser pulses is considered including the effects of diffraction, nonlinear self-focusing, ionization, and plasma generation. Self-guided solutions and the stability of these solutions are discussed. In plasmas, optical guiding by relativistic effects, ponderomotive effects, and preformed density channels is considered. The self consistent plasma response is discussed, including plasma wave effects and instabilities such as self-modulation. Recent experiments on the guiding of laser pulses in gases and in plasmas are briefly summarized.

Absorption of ultrashort, ultra-intense laser light by solids and overdense plasmas

Abstract: Absorption mechanisms for ultra-intense (I>10/sup 17/ W/cm/sup 2/) laser pulses incident on solids and overdense plasma slabs are discussed. We focus on the ultrashort pulse regime, i.e., where the laser pulse length is only a few to perhaps thousands of femtoseconds. Starting from well-known results at low intensity and long pulse length, we begin with absorption mechanisms such as inverse Bremstrahlung and classical resonance absorption and survey several additional absorption mechanisms significant for ultrashort, ultra-intense laser light interacting with overdense plasmas. Estimates for the fraction of laser energy absorbed by various mechanisms are given. It is found that the fraction of energy absorbed by the plasma, and the resulting electron temperatures, can depend considerably on the scale length of the plasma at the critical surface. It is also found that two-dimensional (2-D) effects greatly increase the amount of absorption into hot electrons, over the amount predicted using one-dimensional (1-D) theory. The inclusion of kinetic effects, collisionless absorption, and multidimensional effects are crucial to obtaining a complete picture of the interaction. We also review some of the experimental efforts to understand this complex process of absorption.

Cr/sup 2+/-doped zinc chalcogenides as efficient, widely tunable mid-infrared lasers

Abstract: Transition-metal-doped zinc chalcogenide crystals have recently been investigated as potential mid-infrared lasers. Tetrahedrally coordinated Cr/sup 2+/ ions are especially attractive as lasants on account of high luminescence quantum yields for emission in the 2000-3000-nm range. Radiative lifetimes and emission cross sections of the upper /sup 5/E state are respectively /spl sim/10 /spl mu/s and /spl sim/10/sup -18/ cm/sup 2/. The associated absorption band peaked at /spl sim/1800 mm enables laser-diode pumping of the Cr/sup 2+/ systems. Laser demonstrations with ZnS:Cr and ZnSe:Cr (using a MgF/sub 2/:Co/sup 2+/ laser pump source) gave slope efficiencies up to 30%. Excited-state-absorption losses appear small, and passive losses dominate at present. Tuning experiments with a diffraction grating produce a tuning range covering at least 2150-2800 nm. Laser crystals can be produced by Bridgman growth, seeded physical vapor transport, or diffusion doping. Zinc chalcogenide thermomechanical properties of interest for medium-to-high-power operation compare favorably with those of other host materials, except for the larger refractive-index derivative dn/dT.

Periodically poled lithium niobate and quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillators

Abstract: Since their introduction two years ago, quasi-phase-matched (QPM) optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have moved into the mainstream of OPO research. This has been made possible by continuing improvements and availability of the microstructured nonlinear material periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN). Demonstrations of PPLN OPOs now span the range of pulse formats and power levels. The most significant area of development is low-peak-power devices where operation with conventional materials is difficult. In this paper, we describe the current state of this research, including OPOs pumped by high-repetition-rate (>30 kHz) Q-switched diode-pumped solid state lasers, and CW singly resonant OPOs with >3-W output power in the 3-4-/spl mu/m range.

The nonlinear optical properties of AlGaAs at the half band gap

Abstract: We report experimental values for the nonlinear optical coefficients of AlGaAs, in the half-band-gap spectral region. The dispersion of the nonlinear refractive-index coefficient, n/sub 2/, is measured for both TE- and TM-polarized light. We observe n/sub 2/(TE)>n/sub 2/(TM) and a ratio of cross-phase modulation to self-phase modulation (TE) of /spl sim/0.95, as predicted from band structure calculations. The spectral dependence of the two- and three-photon absorption coefficients are also measured. Finally, the implications for all-optical switching and spatial soliton propagation are discussed.

Optimization in scaling fiber-coupled laser-diode end-pumped lasers to higher power: influence of thermal effect

Abstract: The optimum mode-to-pump ratio in scaling fiber-coupled laser-diode end-pumped lasers to higher power has been investigated by including the thermal effect into the space-dependent rate equation analysis. The optical path difference (OPD) distribution has been derived as a function of the pump-beam quality, focus position of pumping light, and pump radius at the focal plane under the assumption that the end faces of the crystal are thermally insulated. The diffraction losses arising from thermally induced spherical aberration have been estimated by the Strehl intensity ratio. The present results for the optimum mode-to-pump ratio are markedly different from previous analyses in which thermal effects are neglected. Here, the optimum mode-to-pump ratio is a decreasing function of input pump power, and is less than unity in the case of a slightly high pump power. The practical example of a Nd:YAG laser pumped by a 13-W fiber-coupled laser diode is considered to confirm our physical analysis.

115-W Tm:YAG diode-pumped solid-state laser

Abstract: A compact diode-pumped Tm:YAG laser capable of generating greater than 100 W of CW power at 2 /spl mu/m has been demonstrated. A scalable diode end-pumping architecture is used in which 805-nm radiation, coupled to the wing of the Tm/sup 3+3/H/sub 6/-/sup 3/H/sub 4/ absorption feature, is delivered to the end of the laser rod via a lens duct. To facilitate thermal management, undoped YAG end caps are diffusion bonded to the central doped portion of the laser rod. For 2% and 4% Tm-doped rods of the same length, the lower doping level results in higher power, indicating that cross relaxation is still efficient while offering lower thermal stress and reduced absorption at the laser wavelength. Output powers for various output coupler reflectivities are compared to the predictions of a quasi-three-level model. Thermal lensing, cavity stability, and stress-induced birefringence measurements are described. The beam quality was analyzed with the 2% Tm-doped rod and a flat output coupler, yielding M/sup 2/ values of 14-23.

Optimization of Cr/sup 4+/-doped saturable-absorber Q-switched lasers

Abstract: Cr/sup 4+/-doped saturable absorbers are characterized by long excited state lifetime and appreciable excited state absorption. In the paper, we first solve the three coupled rate equations describing the operation of Cr/sup 4+/-doped saturable-absorber passively Q-switched lasers to obtain the expressions of pulse characteristics such as output energy, peak power, and pulsewidth. We then determine the key parameters of an optimally coupled passively Q-switched laser as functions of two variables concerning the amplifying medium, saturable-absorber medium, and pump level, and generate several design curves. These key parameters include the optimal normalized coupling parameter and the optimal normalized saturable-absorber parameter which maximize the output energy (or maximize the peak power, or minimize the pulsewidth), and the corresponding normalized energy, normalized peak power, and normalized pulsewidth. The results are valid for not only Cr/sup 4+/-doped saturable-absorber Q-switched lasers but also any other lasers passively Q-switched by saturable absorbers with long excited state lifetime and appreciable excited state absorption. Using the expressions and design curves, with the aid of a simple hand calculator, one can predict the pulse characteristics and perform the design of an optimally coupled passively Q-switched laser.

Design, fabrication, and performance of infrared and visible vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Abstract: This paper discusses the issues involving the design and fabrication of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). A review of the basic experimental structures is given, with emphasis on recent developments in distributed Bragg reflectors, gain media, as well as current and optical confinement techniques. The paper describes present VCSEL performance, in particular, those involving selective oxidation and visible wavelength operation.

A generalized model for passively Q-switched lasers including excited state absorption in the saturable absorber

Abstract: A generalized model of a passively Q-switched laser is presented. It enables performance optimization including cases in which the saturable absorber exhibits both ground and excited state absorption (ESA) at the laser wavelength. The model accounts for the properties of the lasing material, the saturable absorber, and the resonator. The procedure for using this model to determine resonator and Q-switch parameters which optimize the laser's performance is described and the model is applied to reported systems to demonstrate its use.

Theory and simulation on the threshold of water breakdown induced by focused ultrashort laser pulses

Abstract: A comprehensive model is developed for focused pulse propagation in water. The model incorporates self-focusing, group velocity dispersion, and laser-induced breakdown in which an electron plasma is generated via cascade and multiphoton ionization processes. The laser-induced breakdown is studied first without considering self-focusing to give a breakdown threshold of the light intensity, which compares favorably with existing experimental results. The simple study also yields the threshold dependence on pulse duration and input spot size, thus providing a framework to view the results of numerical simulations of the full model. The simulations establish the breakdown threshold in input power and reveal qualitatively different behavior for picoand femto-second pulses. For longer pulses, the cascade process provides the breakdown mechanism, while for shorter pulses the cooperation between the self-focusing and the multiphoton plasma generation dominates the breakdown threshold.

The physics of the nonlinear optics of plasmas at relativistic intensities for short-pulse lasers

Abstract: The nonlinear optics of plasmas at relativistic intensities are analyzed using only the physically intuitive processes of longitudinal bunching of laser energy, transverse focusing of laser energy, and photon acceleration, together with the assumption of conservation of photons, i.e., the classical action. All that is required are the well-known formula for the phase and group velocity of light in plasma, and the effects of the ponderomotive force on the dielectric function. This formalism is useful when the dielectric function of the plasma is almost constant in the frame of the light wave. This is the case for Raman forward scattering (RFS), envelope self-modulation (SM), relativistic self-focusing (SF), and relativistic self-phase modulation (SPM). In the past, the growth rates for RFS and SPM have been derived in terms of wave-wave interactions. Here we rederive all of the aforementioned processes in terms of longitudinal bunching, transverse focusing, and photon acceleration. As a result, the physical mechanisms behind each are made clear and the relationship between RFS and envelope SM is made explicitly clear. This allows a single differential equation to be obtained which couples RFS and SM, so that the relative importance between each process can now be predicted for given experimental conditions.

Selective quantum-well intermixing in GaAs-AlGaAs structures using impurity-free vacancy diffusion

Abstract: Impurity-free vacancy disordering (IFVD) using SiO/sub 2/ and SrF/sub 2/ dielectric caps to induce selective quantum-well (QW) intermixing in the GaAs-AlGaAs system is studied. The intermixing rate of IFVD was found to be higher in n-i-p and intrinsic than in p-i-n structures, which suggests that the diffusion of the Group III vacancy is not supported in p-type material. Single-mode waveguides have been fabricated from both as-grown and bandgap-tuned double-quantum-well (DQW) laser samples. Propagation losses as low as 8.5 dB cm/sup -1/ were measured from the bandgap-tuned waveguides at the lasing wavelength of the undisordered material, i.e., 860 nm. Simulation was also carried out to study the contribution of free-carrier absorption from the cladding layers, and the leakage loss induced by the heavily p-doped GaAs contact layer. It was found that the leakage loss contributed by the GaAs cap layer is significant and increases with wavelength. Based on IFVD, we also demonstrate the fabrication of multiple-wavelength lasers and multichannel wavelength division multiplexers using the one-step "selective intermixing in selected area" technique. This technique enables one to control the degree of intermixing across a wafer. Lasers with bandgaps tuned to five different positions have been fabricated on a single chip. These lasers showed only small changes in transparency current, internal quantum efficiency, or internal propagation loss, which indicates that the quality of the material remains high after being intermixed. Four-channel wavelength demultiplexers based on a waveguide photodetector design have also been fabricated. Photocurrent and spontaneous emission spectra from individual diodes showed that the absorption edge was shifted by different degrees due to the selective degree of QW intermixing. The results obtained also imply that the technique can be used in the fabrication of broad-wavelength emission superluminescent diodes.

Ultrahigh-average-power diode-pumped Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG lasers

Abstract: Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) possesses thermal and mechanical properties that vary significantly with temperature. We show that when temperature variations are accounted for the simple scaling relationships traditionally used for high-average-power performance predictions fail. We have also found that for room temperature and below, and with uniform heat deposition in a rod, nonquadratic radial temperature profiles result and the magnitude of the thermally induced stresses are seriously underestimated. New nonlinear scaling relationships are presented that properly account for YAG materials property variations with temperature. These results are applied to diode-pumped Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG lasers operating at room temperature and 77 K; we show that significant increases in average power output are possible by operating Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG lasers at 77 K.

Effective Bloch equations for semiconductor lasers and amplifiers

Abstract: A set of effective Bloch equations is established for semiconductor bulk or quantum-well media. The model includes the nonlinear carrier-density dependence of the gain and refractive index and their respective dispersions (frequency dependences). A comparative study is performed between the full microscopic semiconductor Bloch equations and this effective model for pulse propagation to show the range of validity of the present model. The results show that this model agrees well with the microscopic model provided carrier depletion is the dominant saturation mechanism relative to the plasma heating. The effective Bloch equations provide an accurate and practical model for modeling amplifiers with pulses of duration greater than a few picoseconds. By capturing the large bandwidth and the carrier density dependence of the gain, it also provides a reliable model for studying the complex spatiotemporal multilongitudinal and transverse mode dynamics of a variety of wide-aperture high-power semiconductor lasers. The model goes beyond the traditional rate equations and is computationally much more efficient to simulate than the full model.

Confinement factors and gain in optical amplifiers

Abstract: A new identity is derived which relates the gain and the field distribution (or confinement factor) in a dielectric waveguide with complex refractive indices. This identity is valid for any guided mode of waveguides with an arbitrary cross section. It provides a new check of the accuracy of mode solvers. Also, it can be used in a variational approach to predict the gain or loss of a guided mode based on knowledge of confinement factors. It is shown that a previous analysis that is often used, is not correct. In addition, approximate expressions for the gain in slab waveguides are presented.

Optimum design of Er/sup 3+/-Yb/sup 3+/ codoped fibers for large-signal high-pump-power applications

Abstract: A comprehensive numerical fiber amplifier model has been used to optimize Er/sup 3+/-Yb/sup 3+/ codoped active fiber for maximum gain and quantum conversion efficiency (QCE) at large signal operation. The optimum cutoff wavelength of the LP/sub 11/ mode has been found to increase from 800 mm at low pump powers (/spl ap/50 mW) to 1400 mn at pump powers higher than 500 mW. While at low pump powers fibers with higher numerical aperture give higher QCE, at high pump levels better large signal performance is achieved with fibers having lower numerical aperture.

Reconstruction of displacement waveforms with a single-channel laser-diode feedback interferometer

Abstract: Using a laser-diode feedback interferometer, we show how to reconstruct without ambiguity the displacement waveform of an external target from a single interferometric signal. We present the underlying theory with numerical simulations and report an example of actual reconstruction from experimental data. Reconstruction accuracy is on the order of tens of nanometers for displacements of a few micrometers.

Higher order soliton pulse compression in dispersion-decreasing optical fibers

Abstract: Compression of higher order optical solitons in fibers with anomalous dispersion decreasing along their length is investigated. We demonstrate high-quality compression of pulses with initial soliton order 1

Signal amplification in strongly pumped fiber amplifiers

Abstract: Signal amplification is analyzed in strongly pumped fiber amplifiers both for three-level and four-level transitions, including scattering loss and excited state absorption. Simple analytic expressions are derived for the signal amplification and pump attenuation, along the fiber length, when either the signal and the pump are injected at the same fiber end (forward pumping) or when they are injected at the two opposite ends (backward pumping). Numerical examples for rare-earth doped fibers show excellent agreement between the analytical solution and the exact numerical solutions of the rate-equations for practical operating conditions.

Kinetic model for degradation of light-emitting diodes

Abstract: We present a kinetic model for the optical output degradation of light-emitting diodes based on the carrier-recombination enhanced defect motion. Our model leads to analytical solutions and universal curves for the optical output power and the defect density as a function of the normalized aging time with the initial quantum efficiency as the determining parameter. The theoretical results explain very well the time dependence of the II-VI light-emitting diodes under constant current aging condition. The faster aging rate with increasing bias current or temperature is also investigated both experimentally and theoretically, resulting in a very good agreement. Our model provides a quantitative description of the light-emitting diode aging characteristics for compound semiconductors in the presence of electron-hole recombination-enhanced defect generation.

Investigation of efficient self-frequency-doubling Nd:YAB lasers

Abstract: We report on the investigation of efficient self-frequency doubling Nd:YAl/sub 3/(BO/sub 3/)/sub 4/ (Nd:YAB) lasers. Pumped by 1.6 W of 807 nm diode laser radiation, the Nd:YAB laser generates a green 531-nm output of 225 mW which corresponds to a conversion of pump to visible output power of 14%. Conversion efficiencies as high as 20% could be achieved by using the diffraction-limited beam of a Ti:sapphire laser as pump source. In this case, 2.2 W of 807-nm Ti:sapphire radiation produced a 531-nm output of 450 mW. The experimental performance of these Nd:YAB lasers is in good agreement with the predictions of a numerical analysis based on rate equations adequate for lasers with self-frequency doubling.

High-order harmonic generation in plasmas

Abstract: The phenomenon of harmonic generation by electrons oscillating in high-intensity laser fields is surveyed and assessed as a means of producing short-wavelength radiation. Starting from the seminal early work by Sarachik and Schappert (1970), simple motivatory examples are given of incoherent harmonic generation via nonlinear scattering from single electrons. More recent studies aimed at observing the coherent version of this effect in underdense plasmas are then reviewed and some problems noted in distinguishing these harmonics from those produced via the analogous nonlinear mechanism from bound electrons in rare gases. Finally, the revival of interest in harmonics reflected from overdense plasmas is considered. Short-pulse laser-generated "surface" harmonics appear to offer a very promising, compact, and efficient means of upshifting coherent radiation to sub-10-nm wavelengths.

The effective frequency method in the analysis of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Abstract: An effective index model for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is reexamined. In a systematic manner, the basic equations are derived. Instead of effective indices of plane reference waveguides, effective frequencies of plane reference resonators appear. Calculations of the threshold gain and lasing wavelength of a long-wavelength VCSEL show the usefulness of the method and clarify the waveguiding mechanisms in VCSELs, Both dispersion and waveguiding influence the lasing wavelength remarkably.

Monolithic integration in InGaAs-InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well structures using laser intermixing

Abstract: The bandgap of InGaAs-InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well (MQW) material can be accurately tuned by photoabsorption-induced disordering (PAID), using a Nd:YAG laser, to allow lasers, modulators, and passive waveguides to be fabricated from a standard MQW structure. The process relies on optical absorption in the active region of the MQW to produce sufficient heat to cause interdiffusion between the wells and barriers. Bandgap shifts larger than 100 meV are obtainable using laser power densities of around 5 W/spl middot/mm/sup -2/ and periods of illumination of a few minutes to tens of minutes. This process provides an effective way of altering the emission wavelengths of lasers fabricated from a single epitaxial wafer. Blue shifts of up to 160 nm in the lasing spectra of both broad-area and ridge waveguide lasers are reported. The bandgap-tuned lasers are assessed in terms of threshold current density, internal quantum efficiency, and internal losses. The ON/OFF ratios of bandgap-tuned electroabsorption modulators were tested over a range of wavelengths, with modulation depths of 20 dB obtained from material which has been bandgap-shifted by 120 nm, while samples shifted by 80 nm gave modulation depths as high as 27 dB. Single-mode waveguide losses are as low as 5 dB/spl middot/cm/sup -1/ at 1550 mm. Selective-area disordering has been used in the fabrication of extended cavity lasers. The retention of good electrical and optical properties in intermixed material demonstrates that PAID is a promising technique for the integration of devices to produce photonic integrated circuits. A quantum-well intermixing technique using a pulsed laser is also demonstrated.

Noise of the stretched pulse fiber laser. I. Theory

Abstract: A perturbation formalism is developed for the passively mode-locked stretched pulse fiber ring laser analogous to that of the fiber ring soliton laser. It is applied to determine the amplitude fluctuations, carrier frequency noise, and the pulse to pulse jitter due to the amplifier spontaneous emission noise.