Non-contact angle measurement based on parallel multiplex laser feedback interferometry

We present a novel precise angle measurement scheme based on parallel multiplex laser feedback interferometry （PLFI）, which outputs two parallel laser beams and thus their displacement difference reflects the angle variation of the target. Due to its ultrahigh sensitivity to the feedback light, PLFI realizes the direct non-contact measurement of non- cooperative targets. Experimental results show that PLFI has an accuracy of 8＂ within a range of 1400＂. The yaw of a guide is also measured and the experimental results agree with those of the dual-frequency laser interferometer Agilent 5529A.

The Approach of Compensation of Air Refractive Index in Thermal Expansion Coefficients Measurement Based on Laser Feedback Interferometry

We present the thermal expansion coefficient （TEC） measurement technology of compensating for the effect of variations in the refractive index based on a Nd： YA G laser feedback system, the beam frequency is shifted by a pair of aeousto-optic modulators and then the heterodyne phase measurement technique is used. The sample measured is placed in a muffle furnace with two coaxial holes opened on the opposite furnace walls. The measurement beams hit perpendicularly and coaxially on each surface of the sample. The reference beams hit on the reference mirror and the high-refiectivity mirror, respectively. By the heterodyne configuration and computing, the influences of the vibration, distortion of the sample supporter and the effect of variations in the refractive index are measured and largely minimized. For validation, the TECs of aluminum samples are determined in the temperature range of 29-748K, confirming not only the precision within 5 × 10-7 K-1 and the accuracy within 0.4% from 298K to 448K but also the high sensitivity non-contact measurement of the lower reflectivity surface induced by the sample oxidization from 448 K to 748 K.

Measurement of Refractive Index Ranging from 1.42847 to 2.48272 at 1064 nm Using a Quasi-Common-Path Laser Feedback System

Wavelength 1064 nm is one of the most widely used laser wavelengths in industries and science. The high-precision measurement of the refractive index of optical materials at 1064 nm is significant for improving the optical design. We study the direct measurement of refractive index at 1064nm of lasers, including cMcium fluoride （CaF2）, fused silica and zinc selenide （ZnSe）, whose refractive indices cover a large range from 1.42847 to 2.48272. The measurement system is built based on the quasi-common-path Nd：YAG laser feedback interferometry. The thickness can be measured simultaneously with the refractive index. The results demonstrate that the system has absolute uncertainties of ~10-5 and ~10-4 mm in refractive index and thickness measurement, respectively.

A laser feedback interferometer with an oscillating feedback mirror

A method is proposed to solve the problem of direction discrimination for laser feedback interferometers. By vibrating the feedback mirror with a small-amplitude and high-frequency sine wave, laser intensity is modulated accordingly. The modulation amplitude can be extracted using a phase sensitive detector （PSD）. When the feedback mirror moves, the PSD output shows a quasi-sine waveform similar to a laser intensity interference fringe but with a phase difference of approximately ±π/2. If the movement direction of the feedback mirror changes, the phase difference sign reverses. Therefore, the laser feedback interferometer offers a potential application in displacement measurement with a resolution of 1/8 wavelength and in-time direction discrimination. Without using optical components such as polarization beam splitters and wave plates, the interferometer is very simple, easy to align, and less costly.

A sensitive method of determining optic axis azimuth based on laser feedback

A sensitive method to determine the optic axis azimuth of the birefringence element is presented, which is based on laser feedback. The phase difference between the two intensities in birefringence feedback changes with the angle between the optic axis of the birefringence element and laser original polarization. The phase difference is highly sensitive to the relative position of the optic axis and the laser original polarization. This method is used to highly precisely determine the optic axis azimuth, and is able to distinguish between the fast axis and the slow axis of the birefringence element. Theoretical analysis and experimental results are both demonstrated.

Polarization switching in a quasi-isotropic microchip Nd:YAG laser induced by optical feedback

This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd：YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic lasers relies strongly on the intracavity anisotropy loss and mode competition. When the intracavity anisotropy loss is small, external optical feedback can cause polarization switching and strong mode competition between two orthogonal linearly polarized eigenstates of one laser longitudinal mode, which leads to the distortion of laser intensity modulation waveform. The polarization switching is independent of the initial external cavity length. By increasing the intracavity anisotropy loss, one polarization eigenstate can be suppressed and the laser works in single-polarization state. A theoretical analysis based on the compound cavity model is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results offer guidance to the development of laser feedback interferometers.

High-Power Distributed Feedback Laser Diodes Emitting at 820nm

By etching a second-order grating directly into the Al-free optical waveguide region of a ridgewaveguide（RW） AlGaInAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback（DFB） laser diode,a front facet output power of 30mW is obtained at about 820nm with a single longitudinal mode. The Al-free grating surface permits the re-growth of a high-quality cladding layer that yields excellent device performance. The threshold current of these laser diodes is 57mA,and the slope efficiency is about 0.32mW/mA.

2-μm single longitudinal mode GaSb-based laterally coupled distributed feedback laser with regrowth-free shallow-etched gratings by interference lithography

We report a type-I Ga Sb-based laterally coupled distributed-feedback（LC-DFB） laser with shallow-etched gratings operating a continuous wave at room temperature without re-growth process. Second-order Bragg gratings are fabricated alongside the ridge waveguide by interference lithography. Index-coupled LC-DFB laser with a cavity of 1500 μm achieves single longitudinal mode continuous-wave operation at 20℃ with side mode suppression ratio（SMSR） as high as 24 dB.The maximum single mode continuous-wave output power is about 10 mW at room temperature（uncoated facet）. A low threshold current density of 230 A/cm^2 is achieved with differential quantum efficiency estimated to be 93 mW/A. The laser shows a good wavelength stability against drive current and working temperature.

Design of surface emitting distributed feedback quantum cascade laser with single-lobe far-field pattern and high outcoupling efficiency

A 7.8-μm surface emitting second-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser （DFB QCL） structure with metallized surface grating is studied. The modal property of this structure is described by utilizing coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from exact Floquet-Bloch solutions of infinite periodic structure. Based on this theory, the influence of waveguide structure and grating topography as well as device length on the laser performance is numerically investigated. The optimized surface emitting second-order DFB QCL structure design exhibits a high surface outcoupling efficiency of 22% and a low threshold gain of 10 cm-1. Using a π phase-shift in the centre of the grating, a high-quality single-lobe far-field radiation pattern is obtained.

Experimental research on dual polarized laser optical feedback microscope

The principle of laser optical feedback microscope was presented and demonstrated. Three methods to advance the vertical resolution of laser optical feedback microscope were experimentally studied. The first one is to detect the two polarized lights’ intensities separately with a Wollaston prism instead of to detect the whole light’s intensity. The second is that both of the two orthogonally polarized lights of a birefringent dual frequency laser are fed back. The third one is that only one of the orthogonally polarized lights is fed back. The experimental results show that the modes competition between orthogonally polarized lights can be used to improve the vertical resolution of laser optical feedback microscope effectively.

Four distributed feedback laser array integrated with multimode-interference and semiconductor optical amplifier

Monolithic integration of four 1.55-μm-range InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback （DFB） lasers using varied ridge width with a 4 x 1-multimode-interference （MMI） optical combiner and a semiconductor optical amplifier （SOA） is demon- strated. The average output power and the threshold current are 1.8 mW and 35 mA, respectively, when the injection current of the SOA is 100 mA, with a side mode suppression ratio （SMSR） exceeding 40 dB. The four channels have a 1-nm average channel spacing and can operate separately or simultaneously.

Chaos synchronization in injection-locked semiconductor lasers with optical feedback

Based on the rate equations, we have investigated three types of chaos synchronizations in injection-locked semiconductor lasers with optical feedback. Numerical simulation shows that the synchronization can be realized by the symmetric or asymmetric laser systems. Also, the influence of parameter mismatches on chaos synchronization is investigated, and the results imply that these two lasers can achieve good synchronization, with smaller tolerance of parameter mismatch existing.

Optical feedback characteristics in a dual-frequency laser during laser cavity tuning

The optical feedback characteristics in a Zeeman-birefringence dual-frequency laser are studied during the laser cavity tuning in three different kinds of optical feedback conditions： （i） only //-light is fed back; （ii） only ⊥-light is fed back; （iii） both lights are fed back. A compact displacement sensor is designed using the experimental result that there is a nearly 90 degrees phase delay between the two lights＇ cosine optical feedback signals when both lights are fed back into the laser cavity. The priority order that the two lights＇ intensity curves appear can be used for direction discrimination. The resolution of the displacement sensor is at least 79 rim, and the sensor can discriminate the target＇s moving direction easily.

Tunable and broadband microwave frequency combs based on a semiconductor laser with incoherent optical feedback

Based on a semiconductor laser （SL） with incoherent optical feedback, a novel all-optical scheme for generating tunable and broadband microwave frequency combs （MFCs） is proposed and investigated numerically. The results show that, under suitable operation parameters, the SL with incoherent optical feedback can be driven to operate at a regular pulsing state, and the generated MFCs have bandwidths broader than 40 GHz within a 10 dB amplitude variation. For a fixed bias current, the line spacing （or repetition frequency） of the MFCs can be easily tuned by varying the feedback delay time and the feedback strength, and the tuning range of the line spacing increases with the increase in the bias current. The linewidth of the MFCs is sensitive to the variation of the feedback delay time and the feedback strength, and a linewidth of tens of KHz can be achieved through finely adjusting the feedback delay time and the feedback strength. In addition, mappings of amplitude variation, repetition frequency, and linewidth of MFCs in the parameter space of the feedback delay time and the feedback strength are presented.

External-cavity birefringence feedback effects of microchip Nd:YAG laser and its application in angle measurement

External-cavity birefringence feedback effects of the microchip Nd：YAG laser are presented. When a birefringence element is placed in the external feedback cavity of the laser, two orthogonally polarized laser beams with a phase difference are output. The phase difference is twice as large as the phase retardation in the external cavity along the two orthogonal directions. The variable extra-cavity birefringence, caused by rotation of the external-cavity birefringenee element, results in tunable phase difference between the two orthogonally polarized beams. This means that the roll angle information has been translated to phase difference of two output laser beams. A theoretical analysis based on the Fabry-Perot cavity equivalent model and refractive index ellipsoid is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. This phenomenon has potential applications for roll angle measurement.

Comparison of two kinds of active layers for high-power narrow-stripe distributed feedback laser diodes

Usually GaAs/AlGaAs is utilized as an active layer material in laser diodes operating in the spectral range of 800- 850 nm. In this work, in addition to a traditional unstrained GaAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback （DFB） laser diode, a compressively strained InGaAlAs/AlGaAs DFB laser diode is numerically investigated in characteristic. The simulation results show that the compressively strained DFB laser diode has a lower transparency carrier density, higher gain, lower Auger recombination rate, and higher stimulated recombination rate, which lead to better a device performance, than the traditional unstrained GaAs/AlGaAs DFB laser diode.

Theoretical modelling of the effect of photon lifetime on the output dynamics of Er-doped distributed feedback fibre lasers

By employing a simple model of describing three-level lasers, we have theoretically investigated the effect of photon lifetime on the output dynamics of Er-doped distributed feedback fibre lasers. And based on the theoretical analysis we have proposed a promising method to suppress self-pulsing behaviour in the fibre lasers.

A 795 nm gain coupled distributed feedback semiconductor laser based on tilted waveguides

The 795 nm distributed feedback lasers have great application in pumping the Rb D1 transition.In this paper,in order to realize specific 795 nm lasing,we designed tilted ridge distributed feedback lasers based on purely gain coupled effect induced by periodic current injection windows through changing the angle of the tilted ridge.The fabricated devices were cleaved into 2 mm-cavity-length,including 5 tilted angles.The peak output powers of all devices were above 30 mW.Single longitudinal mode lasing was realized in all tilted Fabry-Perot cavities using periodic current injection windows,with side mode suppression ratio over 30 dB.The total wavelength range covered 8.656 nm at 20℃.It was disclosed theoretically and experimentally that the output powers,threshold currents,and central wavelengths of the tilted ridge purely gain coupled DFB lasers were relevant to the tilted angles.The results will be instructive for future design of DFB laser arrays with different central wavelengths.

Time-Delayed Feedback Control in a Single-Mode Laser System

The effects of time-delayed feedback control in a single-mode laser system is investigated.Using the smalltime delay approximation,the analytic expression of the stationary probability distribution function of the laser field isobtained.The mean,normalized variance and skewness of the steady-state laser intensity are calculated.It is found thatthe time-delayed feedback control can suppress the intensity fluctuation of the laser system.The numerical simulationsare in good agreement with the approximate analytic results.

Self Mixing Fringes of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers under Dual Reflector Feedback

The self-mixing fringes which shift due to every one-twentieth wavelength displacement of the target are observed. Taking advantage of the dual reflectors in the external cavity of lasers, the resolution of the sensors has been improved by 10 times. The role of the each reflector has been discussed in detail.