Electrically pumped shot-noise limited class A VECSEL at telecom wavelength.

Class A shot-noise limited operation is achieved in an electrically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL), opening the way for integration of such peculiar noiseless laser oscillation in applications where low power consumption and footprint are mandatory. The quantum well active medium is grown on an InP substrate to enable laser oscillation at telecom wavelengths. Single frequency class A operation is obtained by proper optimization of the cavity dimensions, ensuring at the same time a sufficiently long and high-finesse cavity without any intracavity filtering components. The laser design constraints due to electrical pumping are discussed as compared to optical pumping. The intensity noise spectrum of this laser is shown to be shot-noise limited, leading to a relative intensity noise of $-160\;{\rm dB/Hz}$ for 3.1 mA detected photocurrent.

Direct measurement of the spectral dependence of Lamb coupling constant in a dual frequency quantum well-based VECSEL.

Spectral dependence of Lamb coupling constant C is experimentally investigated in an InGaAlAs Quantum Wells active medium. An Optically-Pumped Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser is designed to sustain the oscillation of two orthogonally polarized modes sharing the same active region while separated in the rest of the cavity. This laser design enables to tune independently the two wavelengths and, at the same time, to apply differential losses in order to extract without any extrapolation the actual coupling constant. C is found to be almost constant and equal to 0.84 ± 0.02 for frequency differences between the two eigenmodes ranging from 45 GHz up to 1.35 THz.

33 W continuous output power semiconductor disk laser emitting at 1275 nm.

We demonstrate a semiconductor disk laser emitting at 1275nm, employing a wafer fused AlInGaAs/InP-AlAs/GaAs gain mirror. A built-in Au-reflector was used to reflect the pump light not absorbed in a single pass through the gain chip active region. The laser exhibited an output power of 33 W for a pump spot with a diameter of 0.86 mm, an output coupler of 2.5%, and a heat-sink temperature of -5°C. When the temperature of the heat-sink was increased to 15 °C, the maximum output power reached a value of ~24 W. The study reveals that the wafer fused gain mirrors have a high optical quality and good uniformity enabling scaling of the maximum emitted power with the diameter of the pump spot, i.e. at least up to the 1 mm diameter.

750 nm 1.5 W frequency-doubled semiconductor disk laser with a 44 nm tuning range.

We demonstrate 1.5 W of output power at the wavelength of 750 nm by intracavity frequency doubling a wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser diode-pumped at 980 nm. An optical-to-optical efficiency of 8.3% was achieved using a bismuth borate crystal. The wavelength of the doubled emission could be tuned from 720 to 764 nm with an intracavity birefringent plate. The beam quality parameter M2 of the laser output was measured to be below 1.5 at all pump powers. The laser is a promising tool for biomedical applications that can take advantage of the large penetration depth of light in tissue in the 700-800 nm spectral range.

Measurements of the electric field of zero-point optical phonons in GaAs quantum wells support the Urbach rule for zero-temperature lifetime broadening.

We study a specific type of lifetime broadening resulting in the well-known exponential "Urbach tail" density of states within the energy gap of an insulator. After establishing the frequency and temperature dependence of the Urbach edge in GaAs quantum wells, we show that the broadening due to the zero-point optical phonons is the fundamental limit to the Urbach slope in high-quality samples. In rough analogy with Welton's heuristic interpretation of the Lamb shift, the zero-temperature contribution to the Urbach slope can be thought of as arising from the electric field of the zero-point longitudinal-optical phonons. The value of this electric field is experimentally measured to be 3 kV cm-1, in excellent agreement with the theoretical estimate.

Effects of surface plasmon polariton-mediated interactions on second harmonic generation from assemblies of pyramidal metallic nano-cavities.

We use polarization-resolved two-photon microscopy to investigate second harmonic generation (SHG) from individual assemblies of site-controlled nano-pyramidal recess templates covered with silver films. We demonstrate the effect of the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies on the effective second order susceptibility tensor as a function of pyramid arrangement and inter-pyramid distance. These results open new perspectives for the application of SHG microscopy as a sensitive probe of coherently excited SPPs, as well as for the design of new plasmonic nanostructure assemblies with tailored nonlinear optical properties.

High performance wafer-fused semiconductor disk lasers emitting in the 1300 nm waveband.

We report for the first time on the performance of 1300 nm waveband semiconductor disc lasers (SDLs) with wafer fused gain mirrors that implement intracavity diamond and flip-chip heat dissipation schemes based on the same gain material. With a new type of gain mirror structure, maximum output power values reach 7.1 W with intracavity diamond gain mirrors and 5.6 W with flip-chip gain mirrors, using a pump spot diameter of 300 µm, exhibiting a beam quality factor M(2)< 1.25 in the full operation range. These results confirm previously published theoretical modeling of these types of SDLs.

High-power flip-chip semiconductor disk laser in the 1.3 µm wavelength band.

We present 6.1 W of output power from a flip-chip semiconductor disk laser (SDL) emitting in the 1.3 µm wavelength region. This is the first demonstration of a flip-chip SDL in this wavelength range with output powers that are comparable to those obtained with intracavity diamond heat spreaders. The flip-chip configuration circumvents the optical distortions and losses that the intracavity diamond heat spreaders can introduce into the laser cavity. This is essential for several key applications of SDLs.

1.56 µm 1 watt single frequency semiconductor disk laser.

A single frequency wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser at 1.56 µm with 1 watt of output power and a coherence length over 5 km in fiber is demonstrated. The result represents the highest output power reported for a narrow-line semiconductor disk laser operating at this spectral range. The study shows the promising potential of the wafer fusion technique for power scaling of single frequency vertical-cavity lasers emitting in the 1.3-1.6 µm range.

Transverse mode discrimination in long-wavelength wafer-fused vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers by intra-cavity patterning.

Transverse mode discrimination is demonstrated in long-wavelength wafer-fused vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers using ring-shaped air gap patterns at the fused interface between the cavity and the top distributed Bragg reflector. A significant number of devices with varying pattern dimensions was investigated by on-wafer mapping, allowing in particular the identification of a design that reproducibly increases the maximal single-mode emitted power by about 30 %. Numerical simulations support these observations and allow specifying optimized ring dimensions for which higher-order transverse modes are localized out of the optical aperture. These simulations predict further enhancement of the single-mode properties of the devices with negligible penalty on threshold current and emitted power.

1 W at 785 nm from a frequency-doubled wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser.

We demonstrate an optically pumped semiconductor disk laser operating at 1580 nm with 4.6 W of output power, which represents the highest output power reported from this type of laser. 1 W of output power at 785 nm with nearly diffraction-limited beam has been achieved from this laser through intracavity frequency doubling, which offers an attractive alternative to Ti:sapphire lasers and laser diodes in a number of applications, e.g., in spectroscopy, atomic cooling and biophotonics.

Large mode splitting and lasing in optimally coupled photonic-crystal microcavities.

Coupling of L-type photonic-crystal (PhC) cavities in a geometry that follows inherent cavity field distribution is exploited for demonstrating large mode splitting of up to ~10-20 nm (~15-30 meV) near 1 µm wavelength. This is much larger than the disorder-induced cavity detuning for conventional PhC technology, which ensures reproducible coupling. Furthermore, a microlaser based on such optimally coupled PhC cavities and incorporating quantum wire gain medium is demonstrated, with potential applications in fast switching and modulation.

8 mW fundamental mode output of wafer-fused VCSELs emitting in the 1550-nm band.

We report record-high fundamental mode output power of 8 mW at 0 °C and 1.5 mW at 100°C achieved with wafer-fused InAlGaAs-InP/AlGaAs-GaAs 1550 nm VCSELs incorporating a re-grown tunnel junction and un-doped AlGaAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors. A broad wavelength tuning range of 15 nm by current variation and wavelength setting in a spectral range of 40 nm on the same VCSEL wafer are demonstrated as well. This performance positions wafer-fused VCSELs as prime candidates for many applications in low power consumption, "green" photonics.

Intra-cavity patterning for mode control in 1.3 µm coupled VCSEL arrays.

We report coupled VCSEL arrays, emitting at 1.3 µm wavelength, in which both the optical gain/loss and refractive index distributions were defined on different vertical layers. The arrays were electrically pumped through a patterned tunnel junction, whereas the array pixels were realized by intra-cavity patterning using sub-wavelength air gaps. Stable oscillations in coupled modes were evidenced for 2x2 array structures, from threshold current up to thermal roll-over, using spectrally resolved field pattern analysis.

Eigenmode analysis of phased-coupled VCSEL arrays using spatial coherence measurements.

We apply the modal coherence theory to evaluate the spatial mode structure of a 2×2 phase-coupled array of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). The eigenmode structure is extracted for different pump currents by measuring the degree of spatial coherence of all VCSEL pairs in the array. The results reveal the impact of optical disorder and spatial hole burning on the modal discrimination. The approach is useful more generally for the evaluation of spatial mode content of other laser array.

3 W of 650 nm red emission by frequency doubling of wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser.

3 W at genuine red wavelength of 650 nm has been achieved from a semiconductor disk laser by frequency doubling. An InP based active medium was fused with a GaAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflector resulting in an integrated monolithic gain mirror. 6.6 W of output power at the fundamental wavelength of 1.3 µm represents the best achievement reported to date for this type of lasers.

1D photonic band formation and photon localization in finite-size photonic-crystal waveguides.

A transition from discrete optical modes to 1D photonic bands is experimentally observed and numerically studied in planar photonic-crystal (PhC) L(N) microcavities of length N. For increasing N the confined modes progressively acquire a well-defined momentum, eventually reconstructing the band dispersion of the corresponding waveguide. Furthermore, photon localization due to disorder is observed experimentally in the membrane PhCs using spatially resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Implications on single-photon sources and transfer lines based on quasi-1D PhC structures are discussed.

Site-controlled InGaAs quantum dots with tunable emission energy.

Semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) systems offering perfect site control and tunable emission energy are essential for numerous nanophotonic device applications involving spatial and spectral matching of dots with optical cavities. Herein, the properties of ordered InGaAs/GaAs QDs grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition on substrates patterned with pyramidal recesses are reported. The seeded growth of a single QD inside each pyramid results in near-perfect (<10 nm) control of the QD position. Moreover, efficient and uniform photoluminescence (inhomogeneous broadening <10 meV) is observed from ordered arrays of such dots. The QD emission energy can be finely tuned by varying 1) the pyramid size and 2) its position within specific patterns. This tunability is brought about by the patterning of both the chemical properties and the surface curvature features of the substrate, which allows local control of the adatom fluxes that determine the QD thickness and composition.

10-Gb/s and 10-km error-free transmission up to 100 degrees C with 1.3-microm wavelength wafer-fused VCSELs.

10-Gb/s modulation speed and transmission over 10-km SM fiber with BER < 10(-11) up to 100 degrees C temperature are achieved with optimized wafer-fused GaAs/AlGaAs-InP/InAlGaAs VCSELs incorporating re-grown tunnel junction. These VCSELs operate in the 1310-nm waveband and emit more than 1-mW single mode power in the full temperature range.

1.3 microm-wavelength phase-locked VCSEL arrays incorporating patterned tunnel junction.

We report the fabrication and the performance of phase-locked VCSEL arrays emitting near 1310 nm wavelength. The arrays were fabricated using double wafer fusion by patterning a tunnel junction layer, which serves to define the individual single mode array elements. Phase-locking in both one-dimensional and two-dimensional array configurations was confirmed by means of far field and spectral measurements as well as theoretical modeling. CW output powers of more than 12 mW were achieved.