Tunable operation of a gain-switched diode laser by nonresonant self-injection seeding

In this letter, we report tunable operation of a gain-switched diode laser by nonresonant self-injection seeding from an uncoated glass slide used as an external cavity reflector. A spectral linewidth reduction from 11 to 0.05 nm has been achieved for picosecond pulses with little effect on other laser characteristics. Good agreement with numerical simulations based on a compound-cavity laser model is also reported

Nonresonant self-injection seeding of a gain-switched diode laser

We demonstrate step-tunable single-mode operation of a gain-switched diode laser by nonresonant self-injection seeding from an uncoated glass slide used as an external cavity reflector. A spectral bandwidth reduction from 11 mn to 0.05 nm and wavelength tunability has been achieved for picosecond (near-transform-limited) pulses with little effect on other laser characteristics. Good agreement with numerical simulations based on a compound-cavity laser model is also reported

Ultrafast electroabsorption dynamics in an InAs quantum dot saturable absorber at 1.3 mu m

The authors report a direct measurement of the absorption dynamics in an InAs p-i-n ridge waveguide quantum dot modulator. The carrier escape mechanisms are investigated via subpicosecond pump-probe measurements at room temperature, under reverse bias conditions. The optical pulses employed are degenerate in wavelength with the quantum dot ground state transition at 1.28 mu m. The absorption change recovers with characteristic times ranging from 62 ps (0 V) to similar to 700 fs (-10 V), showing a decrease of nearly two orders of magnitude. The authors show that at low applied fields, this recovery is attributed to thermionic emission while for higher applied fields, tunneling becomes the dominant mechanism. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.</p

Development of two-photon polymerised scaffolds for optical interrogation and neurite guidance of human iPSC-derived cortical neuronal networks

Recent progress in the field of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has led to the efficient production of human neuronal cell models for in vitro study. This has the potential to enable the understanding of live human cellular and network function which is otherwise not possible. However, a major challenge is the generation of reproducible neural networks together with the ability to interrogate and record at the single cell level. A promising aid is the use of biomaterial scaffolds that would enable the development and guidance of neuronal networks in physiologically relevant architectures and dimensionality. The optimal scaffold material would need to be precisely fabricated with submicron resolution, be optically transparent, and biocompatible. Two-photon polymerisation (2PP) enables precise microfabrication of three-dimensional structures. In this study, we report the identification of two biomaterials that support the growth and differentiation of human iPSC-derived neural progenitors into functional neuronal networks. Furthermore, these materials can be patterned to induce alignment of neuronal processes and enable the optical interrogation of individual cells. 2PP scaffolds with tailored topographies therefore provide an effective method of producing defined in vitro human neural networks for application in influencing neurite guidance and complex network activity

Near-infrared, mode-locked waveguide lasers with multi-GHz repetition rates

In this work, we discuss mode-locking results obtained with low-loss, ion-exchanged waveguide lasers. With Yb3+-doped phosphate glass waveguide lasers, a repetition rate of up to 15.2 GHz was achieved at a wavelength of 1047 nm with an average power of 27 mW and pulse duration of 811 fs. The gap between the waveguide and the SESAM introduced negative group velocity dispersion via the Gires Tournois Interferometer (GTI) effect which allowed the soliton mode-locking of the device. A novel quantum dot SESAM was used to mode-lock Er3+, Yb3+-doped phosphate glass waveguide lasers around 1500 nm. Picosecond pulses were achieved at a maximum repetition rate of 6.8 GHz and an average output power of 30 mW. The repetition rate was tuned by more than 1 MHz by varying the pump power

Diode-pumped ultrafast Yb:KGW laser with 56 fs pulses and multi-100 kW peak power based on SESAM and Kerr-lens mode locking

A high-power sub-60 fs mode-locked diode-pumped Yb:KGW laser based on hybrid action of an InGaAs quantum-dot saturable absorber mirror and Kerr-lens mode locking was demonstrated. The laser delivered 56 fs pulses with 1.95 W of average power corresponding to 450 kW of peak power. The width of the generated laser spectrum was 20.5 nm, which was near the gain bandwidth limit of the Yb:KGW crystal. To the best of our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses generated from the monoclinic double tungstate crystals (and Yb:KGW laser crystal in particular) and the most powerful in the sub-60 fs regime. At the same time, they are also the shortest pulses produced to date with the help of a quantum-dot-based saturable absorber. High-power operation with a pulse duration of 90 fs and 2.85 W of average output power was also demonstrated

Simulation and Analysis of Dynamic Regimes Involving Ground and Excited State Transitions in Quantum Dot Passively Mode-Locked Lasers

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Coherent master equation for laser modelocking

Modelocked lasers constitute the fundamental source of optically-coherent ultrashort-pulsed radiation, with huge impact in science and technology. Their modeling largely rests on the master equation (ME) approach introduced in 1975 by Hermann A. Haus. However, that description fails when the medium dynamics is fast and, ultimately, when light-matter quantum coherence is relevant. Here we set a rigorous and general ME framework, the coherent ME (CME), that overcomes both limitations. The CME predicts strong deviations from Haus ME, which we substantiate through an amplitude-modulated semiconductor laser experiment. Accounting for coherent effects, like the Risken-Nummedal-Graham-Haken multimode instability, we envisage the usefulness of the CME for describing self-modelocking and spontaneous frequency comb formation in quantum-cascade and quantum-dot lasers. Furthermore, the CME paves the way for exploiting the rich phenomenology of coherent effects in laser design, which has been hampered so far by the lack of a coherent ME formalism

Continuous wave terahertz radiation from an InAs/GaAs quantum-dot photomixer device

This project was funded by EPSRC under Grant EP/H015795/1.Generation of continuous wave radiation at terahertz (THz) frequencies from a heterodyne source based on quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor materials is reported. The source comprises an active region characterised by multiple alternating photoconductive and QD carrier trapping layers and is pumped by two infrared optical signals with slightly offset wavelengths, allowing photoconductive device switching at the signals' difference frequency similar to 1 THz.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe