Massive surface-plasmon polaritons

It is well-known that a quantum of light (photon) has a zero mass in vacuum. Entering into a medium the photon creates a quasiparticle (polariton, plasmon, surface-phonon, surface-plasmon polariton, etc.) whose rest mass is generally not zero. In this letter, devoted to the memory of Mark Stockman, we evaluate the rest mass of light-induced surface-plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and discuss an idea that collisions of two massive SPP quasiparticles can result in changes of their frequencies according to the energy and momentum conservation laws

Wavelength-tunable, GaSb-based, cascaded type-I quantum-well laser emitting over a range of 300 nm

We present a wavelength-tunable, external-cavity GaSb-based quantum-well laser operating near 3.2 μm. The laser setup consists of an intra-cavity grating in Littman-Metcalf configuration and a cascade pumped GaSb-based gain chip with a narrow-ridge waveguide. The narrow-ridge waveguide has a length of 2 mm and width of 7.5 μm. Cascade pumping is realized with three type-I quantum-wells, using one quantum-well per cascade stage. The laser provides continuous-wave output powers up to 8 mW and slope-efficiencies of 13 % at room temperature. Laser operation is demonstrated over a wavelength range of more than 300 nm, using continuous-wave and pulsed operation regimes

Edge emitting mode-locked quantum dot lasers

Edge-emitting mode-locked quantum-dot (QD) lasers are compact, highly efficient sources for the generation of picosecond and femtosecond pulses and/or broad frequency combs. They provide direct electrical control and footprints down to few millimeters. Their broad gain bandwidths (up to 50 nm for ground to ground state transitions as discussed below, with potential for increase to more than >200 nm by overlapping ground and excited state band transitions) allow for wavelength-tuning and generation of pico- and femtosecond laser pulses over a broad wavelength range. In the last two decades, mode-locked QD laser have become promising tools for low-power applications in ultrafast photonics. In this article, we review the development and the state-of-the-art of edge-emitting mode-locked QD lasers. We start with a brief introduction on QD active media and their uses in lasers, amplifiers, and saturable absorbers. We further discuss the basic principles of mode-locking in QD lasers, including theory of nonlinear phenomena in QD waveguides, ultrafast carrier dynamics, and mode-locking methods. Different types of mode-locked QD laser systems, such as monolithic one- and two-section devices, external-cavity setups, two-wavelength operation, and master-oscillator power-amplifier systems, are discussed and compared. After presenting the recent trends and results in the field of mode-locked QD lasers, we briefly discuss the application areas

Pulse dynamics in SESAM-free electrically pumped VECSEL

Self-starting pulsed operation in an electrically pumped (EP) vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting-laser (VECSEL) without intracavity saturable absorber is demonstrated. A linear hemispherical cavity design, consisting of the EP-VECSEL chip and a 10% output-coupler, is used to obtain picosecond output pulses with energies of 2.8 pJ and pulse widths of 130 ps at a repetition rate of 1.97 GHz. A complete experimental analysis of the generated output pulse train and of the transition from continuous-wave to pulsed operation is presented. Numerical simulations based on a delay-differential-equation (DDE) model of mode-locked semiconductor lasers are used to reproduce the pulse dynamics and identify different laser operation regimes. From this, the measured single pulse operation is attributed to FM-type mode-locking. The pulse formation is explained by strong amplitude-phase coupling and spectral filtering inside the EP-VECSEL

Amplification of nanosecond pulses in a single-mode erbium-doped fluoride fibre amplifier

We investigate the amplification of nanosecond pulses in a single-mode Er-fluoride fibre amplifier. A PPLN-based optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with a Q-switched Nd:YAG pump laser was used to generate seed pulses at a wavelength of 2790 nm. The OPO system produced seed pulses with sub-10 ns pulse durations and pulse energies of 0.5 μJ at a repetition rate of 10 kHz. These seed pulses were amplified in a single-mode Erbium-fluoride fibre amplifier, consisting of 2.2 m of double-clad fibre with a doping concentration of 7 mol%. Using this setup, we demonstrate gain values of up to 20 dB, output pulse energies of 52.7 μJ, and peak powers of more than 8 kW

Visible to near-infrared broadband fluorescence from Ce-doped silica fiber

We investigate the fluorescence characteristics of a purely Ce-doped silica fiber and demonstrate broad-bandwidth fluorescence across the visible and near-infrared. The Ce-doped fiber is fabricated using standard modified chemical vapor deposition technology. Trace metal analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry confirmed the purity of Ce-doping. The Ce valence state of 3+ was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The optimum pump wavelength for the broadest luminescence from a fiber is scanned between 405 nm to 440 nm wavelength of diode lasers operating under continuous-wave regime. The strongest pump absorption is observed at the wavelength of 405 nm. Variation of pump power and fiber length results in the demonstration of broad-bandwidth fluorescence with spectral widths up to 301 nm (at -10 dB). The measured fluorescence spectra cover the wavelength range from ∼458 nm to ∼819 nm with spectral power densities of up to 2.4 nW/nm

Amplification of GaSb-Based Diode Lasers in an Erbium-Doped Fluoride Fibre Amplifier

Building upon recent advances in GaSb-based diode lasers and Er-doped fluoride fibre technologies, this article demonstrates for the first time the fibre-based amplification of mid-infrared diode lasers in the wavelength range around 2.78 $\mu$m. The laser setup consists of a GaSb-based diode laser and a single-stage Er-doped fibre amplifier. Amplification is investigated for continuous wave (CW) and ns-pulsed input signals, generated by gain-modulation of the GaSb-based seed lasers. The experimental results include the demonstration of output powers up to 0.9 W, pulse durations as short as 20 ns, and pulse repetition rates up to 1 MHz. Additionally, the amplification of commercial and custom-made GaSb-based seed lasers is compared and the impact of different fibre end-cap materials on laser performance is analysed

Signal-Noise Interaction in Optical-Fiber Communication Systems Employing Nonlinear Frequency-Division Multiplexing

We address the properties of nonlinear-Fourier-transform (NFT)-based fiber-optic communications systems and, particularly, study how the presence of noise deteriorates the performance of these systems. Similarly to the case of linear Fourier modes evolving independently under the action of chromatic dispersion alone, NFT-based systems employ so-called “nonlinear modes,” forming a nonlinear spectrum, as data carriers, and these nonlinear modes evolve independently in an uncoupled manner under the joint action of nonlinearity and dispersion. However, the influence of amplified-spontaneous-emission (ASE) noise on these nonlinear modes is still relatively poorly studied. In this paper, dealing with a continuous nonlinear spectrum, we scrutinize the properties of the effective noise emerging in the nonlinear Fourier domain. We also show that in the transmission stages, where the signal peak power is relatively high (e.g., at the receiver, in back-to-back transmission, or at short distances), the performance of an NFT system is mostly degraded not by the inline ASE noise, but by the imperfections of the digital sampling and the forward and backward NFT algorithms, i.e., by the NFT processing noise