975 nm multimode semiconductor lasers with high-order Bragg diffraction gratings

The 975 nm multimode diode lasers with high-order surface Bragg diffraction gratings have been simulated and calcu-lated using the 2D finite difference time domain(FDTD)algorithm and the scattering matrix method(SMM).The periods and etch depth of the grating parameters have been optimized.A board area laser diode(BA-LD)with high-order diffraction grat-ings has been designed and fabricated.At output powers up to 10.5 W,the measured spectral width of full width at half maxi-mum(FWHM)is less than 0.5 nm.The results demonstrate that the designed high-order surface gratings can effectively nar-row the spectral width of multimode semiconductor lasers at high output power.

Dual-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector semiconductor laser based on a composite resonant cavity

We report a monolithic integrated dual-wavelength laser diode based on a distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） composite resonant cavity. The device consists of three sections, a DBR grating section, a passive phase section, and an active gain section. The gain section facet is cleaved to work as a laser cavity mirror. The other laser mirror is the DBR grating, which also functions as a wavelength filter and can control the number of wavelengths involved in the laser action. The reflection bandwidth of the DBR grating is fabricated to have an appropriate value to make the device work at the dual-wavelength lasing state. We adopt the quantum well intermixing （QWI） technique to provide low-absorption loss grating and passive phase section in the fabrication process. By tuning the injection currents on the DBR and the gain sections, the device can generate 0.596 nm-spaced dual-wavelength lasing at room temperature.

Spatial and spectral filtering of tapered lasers by using tapered distributed Bragg reflector grating

A 1040 nm tapered laser with tapered distributed Bragg reflector(DBR) grating is designed and fabricated. By designing the grating with tapered layout, the tapered DBR grating exhibits the scattering effect on side backward-traveling waves, thus achieving additional suppression of parasitic oscillation. Under the suppression of parasitic oscillation, the spatial and spectral characteristics of the tapered laser are improved. The experimental results show that a near-Gaussian far-field distribution and a kink-free P–I characteristics are achieved, and a single peak emission with a wavelength of1046.84 nm and a linewidth of 56 pm is obtained.

Modeling of resistance characteristics of a continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflector in a 980-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

The resistance characteristics of a continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflector（DBR） in a 980-nm verticalcavity surface-emitting laser（VCSEL） are modeled in detail.The junction resistances between the layers of both the p-and n-DBR mirrors are analysed by combining the thermionic emission model and the finite difference method.In the meantime,the intrinsic resistance of the DBR material system is calculated to make a comparison with the junction resistance.The minimal values of series resistances of the graded p-and n-type DBR mirrors and the lateral temperature-dependent resistance variation are calculated and discussed.The result indicates the potential to optimize the design of the DBR reflectors of the 980-nm VCSELs.

Numerical Simulation of an All Optical Flip-Flop Based on a Nonlinear Distributed Bragg Reflector Laser Structure

A new design for an all optical flip flop is introduced. It is based on a nonlinear Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) semiconductor laser structure. The device does not require a holding beam. An optical gain medium confined between 2 Bragg reflectors forms the device. One of the Bragg reflectors is detuned from the other by making its average refractive index slightly higher, and it has a negative nonlinear coefficient that is due to direct absorption at Urbach tail. At low light intensity in the structure, the detuned Bragg reflector does not provide optical feedback to start a laser mode. An optical pulse injected to the structure reduces the detuning of the nonlinear Bragg reflector and a laser mode builds up. The device is reset by detuning the second Bragg reflector optically by an optical pulse that generates electron-hole pairs by direct absorption. A mathematical model of the device is introduced. The model is solved numerically in time domain using a general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) to increase accuracy and to reduce the computation time. The switching dynamics of the device are in nanosecond time scale. The device could be used for all optical data packet switching/routing.

Q-switched pulse generation from an all-f iber distributed Bragg reflector laser using graphene as saturable absorber

A Q-switched distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser using a graphene passive saturable absorber is proposed in a cavity consisting of a fiber Bragg grating and Faraday rotator mirror as end mirrors, together with a highly doped erbium-doped fiber as a gain source. The laser has a Q-switched threshold of about 28 mW and a tunable repetition rate of 10.4-18.0 kHz with varying pump power. The shortest pulse width obtained from the system is 3.7 its, with a maximum pulse energy and peak power of 22.2 nJ and 3.4 mW, respectively.

Wavelength Tuning in the Two-Section Distributed Bragg Reflector Laser Fabricatedby Quantum-Well Intermixing

The two-section tunable ridge waveguide distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers fabricated by strained In xGa1-xAsyP1-y The threshold current of the laser is 51mA. The tunable range of the laser is 3.2nm and the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is more than 38dB.

Holographically fabricated, highly reflective nanoporous polymeric distributed Bragg reflectors with red, green,and blue colors [Invited]

We report holographic fabrication of nanoporous distributed Bragg reflector(DBR) films with periodic nanoscale porosity via a single-prism conuration. The nanoporous DBR films result from the phase separation in a material recipe, which consists of a polymerizable acrylate monomer and nonreactive volatile solvent. By changing the interfering angle of two laser beams, we achieve the nanoporous DBR films with highly reflective red,green, and blue colors. The reflection band of the nanoporous DBR films can be tuned by further filling different liquids into the pores inside the films, resulting in the color change accordingly. Experimental results show that such kinds of nanoporous DBR films could be potentially useful for many applications, such as color filters and refractive index sensors.

In situ growth monitoring of AlGaN/GaN distributed Bragg reflectors at 530 nm using a 633 nm laser

The metal-organic chemical vapor deposition（MOCVD） growth of AlGaN/GaN distributed Bragg reflectors （DBR） with a reflection peak at 530 nm was in situ monitored using 633 nm laser reflectometry.Evolutions of in situ reflected reflectivity for different kinds of AlGaN/GaN DBR were simulated by the classical transfer matrix method.Two DBR samples,which have the same parameters as the simulated structures,were grown by MOCVD.The simulated and experimental results show that it is possible to evaluate the DBR parameters from the envelope shape of the in situ reflectivity spectrum.With the help of the 633 nm laser reflectometry,a DBR light emitting diode（LED） was grown.The room temperature photoluminescence spectra show that the reflection peak of the DBR in the LED is within the design region.

Frequency and wavelength tunable optical microwave source based on a distributed Bragg reflector self-pulsation laser

A frequency and wavelength tunable self-pulsation laser based on DBR laser devices is reported for the first time.This laser generates continuous tunable optical microwave in the range of 1.87-21.81 GHz with 3-dB linewidth about 10 MHz by tuning the injection currents on the front and back gain sections,and exhibits wavelength tuning range from 1536.28 to 1538.73 nm by tuning the injection currents on the grating section.

Modified-DBR-based semi-omnidirectional multilayer anti-reflection coating for tandem solar cells

In this paper, multilayer antireflection coatings are designed by modifying the thickness of two and three paired layer distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） structure. Our proposed DBR-based structures show antireflection behaviors, in spite of the reflection treatment in traditional DBR structures. Firstly, the proposed structures are designed to be equivalent to the theoretical ideal triple-layer （TL） antireflection coating （ARC）. Therefore, the problem of finding a suitable material for the middle layer of triple structure is solved. Simulation results show the significant equivalency for the reflectance of proposed structures to the ideal TL ARC at the same wavelengths and incident angles. Also, the design of the structure is changed in order to present the constant reflectance coefficient over a wide range of wavelengths. This structure enhances the omni-directionality of the multilayer ARC.

Stable single-mode operation of a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser integrated with a distributed Bragg reflector

We report an index-coupled distributed feedback quantum cascade laser by employing an equivalent phase shift(EPS) of quarter-wave integrated with a distributed Bragg reflector(DBR) at λ~5.03 μm. The EPS is fabricated through extending one sampling period by 50% in the center of a sampled Bragg grating. The key EPS and DBR pattern are fabricated by conventional holographic exposure combined with the optical photolithography technology, which leads to improved flexibility, repeatability, and cost-effectiveness. Stable single-mode emission can be obtained by changing the injection current or heat sink temperature even under the condition of large driving pulse width.

1.5 μm dual-lateral-mode distributed Bragg reflector laser for terahertz excitation

A terahertz excitation source based on a dual-lateral-mode distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） laser working in the 1.5 μm range is experimentally demonstrated. By optimizing the width of the ridge waveguide, the fundamental and the first-order lateral modes are obtained from the laser. The mode spacing between the two modes is 9.68 nm, corresponding to a beat signal of 1.21 THz. By tuning the bias currents of the phase and DBR sections, the wavelengths of the two modes can be tuned by 2 nm, with a small strength difference （〈5 dB） and a large side-mode suppression ratio （SMSR 〉 45 dB）.

An improved design for Al Ga N solar-blind avalanche photodiodes with enhanced avalanche ionization

To enhance the avalanche ionization, we designed a new separate absorption and multiplication AlGaN solarblind avalanche photodiode （APD） by using a high/low-Al-content AlGaN heterostructure as the multiplication region instead of the conventional AlGaN homogeneous layer. The calculated results show that the designed APD with Al0.3Ga0.7N/Al0.45Ga0.55N heterostructure multiplication region exhibits a 60% higher gain than the conventional APD and a smaller avalanche breakdown voltage due to the use of the low-Al-content Al0.3Ga0.7N which has about a six times higher hole ionization coefficient than the high-Al-content Al0.45Ga0.55N. Meanwhile, the designed APD still remains a good solar-blind characteristic by introducing a quarter-wave A1GaN/A1N distributed Bragg reflectors structure at the bottom of the device.

Transverse localization of Tamm plasmon in metal-DBR structure with disordered layer

Transverse localization of the optical Tamm plasmon （OTP） is studied in a metal-distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） structure with a one-dimensional disordered layer embedded at the interface between the metal and the DBR. The embed- ded disordered layer induces multiple scattering and interference of light, forming the light localization in the transverse direction. This together with the formation of Tamm plasmonic modes at the metal-DBR interface （i.e., the confinement of light in the longitudinal direction）, gives birth to the so called transverse-localized Tamm plasmon. It is shown that for both transverse electric （TE） and transverse magnetic （TM） polarized light injection, the excited transverse-localized Tamm plas- mon broadens and splits the dispersion curve due to spatial incoherence in the transverse direction, thus proving the stronger light confinement especially in the TE polarized injection. By adding the gain medium, specific random lasing modes are observed. The proposed study could be an efficient way of trapping and locally enhancing light on a subwavelength scale, which is useful in applications of random lasers, optical sensing, and imaging.

Omnidirectional and compact Tamm phonon-polaritons enhanced mid-infrared absorber

Narrow band mid-infrared(MIR)absorption is highly desired in thermal emitter and sensing applications.We theoretically demonstrate that the perfect absorption at infrared frequencies can be achieved and controlled around the surface phonon resonance frequency of silicon carbide(SiC).The photonic heterostructure is composed of a distributed Bragg reflector(DBR)/germanium(Ge)cavity/SiC on top of a Ge substrate.Full-wave simulation results illustrate that the Tamm phonon-polaritons electric field can locally concentrate between the Ge cavity and the SiC film,contributed to the improved light-phonon interactions with an enhancement of light absorption.The structure has planar geometry and does not require nano-patterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles.Their absorption lines are tunable via engineering of the photon band-structure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber.

Distributed Bragg reflector laser(1.8 μm) with 10 nm wavelength tuning range

We report a 1.8 μm two-section distributed Bragg reflector laser using butt-jointed InGaAsP bulk material as the waveguide core layer. The threshold current is 17 mA and the output power is 8 mW on average. The threshold current, output power, and emitting wavelength dependences on temperature are measured. The obtained wave- length tuning range is 10 nm. This device has potential applications in simultaneous multiple-gas detection.

Highly Angular Tolerant Transmission Filters for Narrow-Band Image Sensors

A dielectric transmittance filter composed of subwavelength grating sandwiched between two few-layers distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) is proposed with the aim of being compatible with CMOS technology and to be tunable by lithographic means of the grating pattern without the need of thickness changes, in the broad spirit of metamaterials. The DBR mirrors form a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity whose resonant frequency can be tuned by changing the effective refractive index of the cavity, here, by tailoring the in-plane filling factor of the grating. The structure has been studied and designed by performing numerical simulations using Fourier Modal Method (FMM). This filter proves to have high broad angular tolerance up to ±30˚. This feature is crucial for evaluating the spectral performance of narrow-band filters especially the so-called Ambient light sensors (ALS). By analyzing the transmittance spectral distributions in the band diagram, it is found that the angular tolerance is due to coupling between the FP and the guided mode inside the cavity in analogy to resonances occurring within multimode periodic waveguides in a different context.

Fiber Laser Based Multiplexed Sensing System

A laser sensing system based on beat frequency demodulation is proposed. The sensor uses a single-longitudinal-mode distributed Bragg reflector （DBR） fiber laser as a sensing element. This laser sensor has great multiplexing capability due to its wide free spectral range. Wavelength-division-multiplex （WDM） and frequency-division-multiplex （FDM） techniques are studied. The sensing system has high sensitivity and multiplexing channels.

GaInN light-emitting diodes with omni-directional reflector using nanoporous SnO_2 film

Enhancement of light extraction in a GaInN light-emitting diode （LED） employing an omni-directional reflector （ODR） consisting of GaN, SnO2 nanorod and an Ag layer was presented. The ODR comprises a transparent, quarterwave layer of SnO2 nanorod claded by silver and serves as an ohmic contact to p-type GaN. Transparent SnO2 sols were obtained by sol-gel method from SnCl2·2H2O, and SnO2 thin films were prepared by dip-coating technique. The average size of the spherical SnO2 particles obtained is 200 nm. The refractive index of the nanorod SnO2 film layer is 2.01. The GaInN LEDs with GaN/SnO2/Ag ODR show a lower forward voltage. This was attributed to the enhanced reflectivity of the ODR that employs the nanorod SnO2 film layer. Experimental results show that ODR-LEDs have lower optical losses and higher extraction efficiency as compared to conventional LEDs with Ni/Au contacts and conventional LEDs employing a distributed Bragg reflector （DBR）.