Passive harmonic mode-locking by mode selection in Fabry-Perot diode lasers with patterned effective index

We demonstrate passive harmonic mode-locking of a quantum well laser diode designed to support a discrete comb of Fabry-Perot modes. Spectral filtering of the mode spectrum was achieved using a non-periodic patterning of the cavity effective index. By selecting six modes spaced at twice the fundamental mode spacing, near-transform limited pulsed output with 2 ps pulse duration was obtained at a repetition rate of 100 GHz.Comment: 3 page

Optical Synthesis of Terahertz and Millimeter-Wave Frequencies with Discrete Mode Diode Lasers

It is shown that optical synthesis of terahertz and millimeter-wave frequencies can be achieved using two-mode and mode-locked discrete mode diode lasers. These edge-emitting devices incorporate a spatially varying refractive index profile which is designed according to the spectral output desired of the laser. We first demonstrate a device which supports two primary modes simultaneously with high spectral purity. In this case sinusoidal modulation of the optical intensity at terahertz frequencies can be obtained. Cross saturation of the material gain in quantum well lasers prevents simultaneous lasing of two modes with spacings in the millimeter-wave region. We show finally that by mode-locking of devices that are designed to support a minimal set of four primary modes, we obtain a sinusoidal modulation of the optical intensity in this frequency region.Comment: 6 page

Timing characterization of 100 GHz passively mode-locked discrete mode laser diodes

We report on the characterization of the timing stability of passively mode-locked discrete mode diode laser sources. These are edge-emitting devices with a spatially varying refractive index profile for spectral filtering. Two devices with a mode-locking frequency of 100 GHz are characterized. The first device is designed to support a comb of six modes and generates near Fourier limited 1.9 ps pulses. The second supports four primary modes resulting in a sinusoidal modulation of the optical intensity. Using a cross-correlation technique, we measured a 20 fs pulse to pulse timing jitter for the first device, while, for the second device, a mode-beating (RF) linewidth of 1 MHz was measured using heterodyne mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier. Comparison of these results with those obtained for an equivalent Fabry-Perot laser indicates that the spectral filtering mechanism employed does not adversely affect the timing properties of these passively mode-locked devices

Superconducting nanowire photon number resolving detector at telecom wavelength

The optical-to-electrical conversion, which is the basis of optical detectors, can be linear or nonlinear. When high sensitivities are needed single-photon detectors (SPDs) are used, which operate in a strongly nonlinear mode, their response being independent of the photon number. Nevertheless, photon-number resolving (PNR) detectors are needed, particularly in quantum optics, where n-photon states are routinely produced. In quantum communication, the PNR functionality is key to many protocols for establishing, swapping and measuring entanglement, and can be used to detect photon-number-splitting attacks. A linear detector with single-photon sensitivity can also be used for measuring a temporal waveform at extremely low light levels, e.g. in long-distance optical communications, fluorescence spectroscopy, optical time-domain reflectometry. We demonstrate here a PNR detector based on parallel superconducting nanowires and capable of counting up to 4 photons at telecommunication wavelengths, with ultralow dark count rate and high counting frequency

Experimental study of a tunable hybrid III-V-on-silicon laser for spectral characterization of fiber Bragg grating sensors

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors offer multiple benefits in comparison with electronic sensors due to their compactness, electromagnetic immunity as well as their resistance to harsh environments and their multiplexing capabilities. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is one of the various potential industrial applications that could take full advantage of those sensors. However, there is a need for a low size, weight, power and cost interrogation unit for certain application areas such as aerospace or aeronautics. That is the reason why recent efforts have been made to use integrated components and circuits for interrogation of FBGs. Among different techniques, interrogation with a swept laser source is of high interest since it has a high multiplexing capability and could reach a high level of integration using other integrated components such as photodetectors, grating couplers or directional couplers to form a compact interrogation unit. In this paper, we present characterization results of a fully-packaged hybrid III-V on silicon tunable laser diode operating in the C and L bands. Wavelength maps are produced and analyzed and modulation of emitted wavelength is discussed. Preliminary results corresponding to a moderate frequency (10-Hz sweep rate) were obtained and FBG reflection spectra acquired with a broadband source (BBS) and a swept laser diode are compared. Finally, we discuss potential design improvements in order to reach high scan rates (> 10 kHz) and a large tuning range

On-off intermittency in an optically injected semiconductor laser

We report on the observation of on-off intermittency in an optically injected dual-mode semiconductor laser. It is shown that quasi-single-mode chaotic dynamics of the injected mode are accompanied by intermittent and irregular bursts of the intensity of the uninjected mode. We define a threshold intensity of the uninjected mode to distinguish laminar and bursting states of the system. For small values of the threshold parameter we observe excellent agreement with the predictions of theory for the distribution of the laminar phase durations. For larger values of the threshold parameter, a gap appears in the distribution of laminar phase durations. Numerical simulations demonstrate that this gap is a consequence of the fact that in this case the on states of the system define large intensity spikes, which can belong either to the same or to distinct bursts away from the single-mode manifold

Superconducting nanowire photon-number-resolving detector at telecommunication wavelengths

Optical-to-electrical conversion, which is the basis of the operation of optical detectors, can be linear or nonlinear. When high sensitivities are needed, single-photon detectors are used, which operate in a strongly nonlinear mode, their response being independent of the number of detected photons. However, photon-number-resolving detectors are needed, particularly in quantum optics, where n-photon states are routinely produced. In quantum communication and quantum information processing, the photon-numberre-solving functionality is key to many protocols, such as the implementation of quantum repeaters(1) and linear- optics quantum computing(2). A linear detector with single-photon sensitivity can also be used for measuring a temporal waveform at extremely low light levels, such as in long-distance optical communications, fluorescence spectroscopy and optical time-domain reflectometry. We demonstrate here a photon-number-resolving detector based on parallel superconducting nanowires and capable of counting up to four photons at telecommunication wavelengths, with an ultralow dark count rate and high counting frequency