Continuous wave and active Q-switched operation of Watt-level LED-pumped two-rod Nd,Ce:YAG laser

A high-performance LED-side-pumped two-rod Nd,Ce:YAG laser with continuous-wave(CW) and acousto–optical(A-O) Q-switched operation is demonstrated in this work. A symmetrically shaped flat–flat cavity with two identical LEDside-pumped laser modules is employed for power scalability. In the CW regime, the maximum output average power of laser at 1064 nm is 4.41 W, corresponding to a maximum optical conversion efficiency of 5.3% and a slope efficiency is 12.4%. In the active Q-switched regime, the pulse energy of laser reaches as high as 0.89 m J at a repetition rate of 800 Hz with a pulse width of 457.2 ns, the corresponding highest peak output power is 1.94 k W and the M~2 factor is measured to be about 8.8. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration and the highest performance of a CW LED-side-pumped two-rod laser Nd,Ce:YAG with Watt-level output reported so far.

Synthesis and electro-optic properties of fluorine-containing polyimide

The fluorine-containing organic polymer was synthesized from 3, 3＇, 4, 4＇-Bisphenyltetracarboxylic （BPDA）, and 2,2-Bis （3-amino-4-hydroxyyphenyl） hexafluoropropane （6FHP）. It is a first-step preparation of a preimided hydroxy-containing polyimide, followed by the covalent bonding of an active chromophore, dispersed red 19 （DR19）, onto the backbone of the polyimide via the Mitsunobu reaction. The nonlinear optical （NLO） containing polyimide was synthesized. The differential scanning calorimeter （DSC）and thermal gravimetric analysis （TGA） exhibited Tg and the temperature Tg at which 5 % mass losses occurring of polymer were 248 and 309 ℃, respectively. A reflective electro-optic （EO） modulator using this polymer was fabricated. The optical nonlinearities were determined to be d33 = 5. 209×10^-9 esu （poling voltage of 3.6 kV, 205 ℃） and d33 =7. 418×10^-9esu （poling voltage of 3. 8 kV, 210 ℃） by the second harmonic generation method in in-situ condition at a fundamental wavelength of 1 064 nm. The EO coefficients 733 of the polymer layer in the EO modulator were determined to be 2. 182 pm/V （poling voltage of 3.6 kV, 205 ℃） and 3. 107 pm/V （poling voltage of 3.8 kV, 210 ℃） at 1064 nm by an attenuated-total-reflection （ATR） method.

A High-Performance Silicon Electro-Optic Phase Modulator with a Triple MOS Capacitor

We propose and analyze a novel Si-based electro-optic modulator with an improved metal-oxide-semiconductor （MOS） capacitor configuration integrated into silicon-on-insulator （SOl）. Three gate-oxide layers embedded in the silicon waveguide constitute a triple MOS capacitor structure, which boosts the modulation efficiency compared with a single MOS capacitor. The simulation results demonstrate that the Vπ Lπ product is 2. 4V · cm. The rise time and fall time of the proposed device are calculated to be 80 and 40ps from the transient response curve, respectively,indicating a bandwidth of 8GHz. The phase shift efficiency and bandwidth can be enhanced by rib width scaling.

Mach-Zehnder Electro-Optic Polymer Modulator with C orona Poled Core Layer

A Mach-Zehnder(MZ) electro-optic(EO) modulator are real iz ed,with three optical layers as polymer materials.The functional layer is the co rona poled crosslinkable polyurethane.The ridge waveguide is fabricated by using the spin-coating,poling,photolithography and oxygen reactive ion etching(RIE) techniques.The mode and the modulation properties of these devices are demonstra ted in a micron control system,while the light source works at the wavelength of 1 31 or 1 55 micron.

Experimental study of electro-optical-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser

We report the specification of a compact and stable side diode-pumped Q-switched pulsed Nd：YAG laser. We ex- perimentally study and compare the performance of the pulsed Nd：YAG laser in the free-running and Q-switched modes at different pulse repetition rates from 1 Hz to 100 Hz. The laser output energy is stabilized by using a special configu- ration of the optical resonator. In this laser, an unsymmetrical concave-concave resonator is used and this structure helps the mode volume to be nearly fixed when the pulse repetition rate is increased. According to the experimental results in the Q-switched operation, the laser output energy is nearly constant around 70 mJ with an FWHM pulse width of 7 ns at 100 Hz. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency in the Q-switched regime is 17.5%.

Electro-Optical Effect Measurement of Thin-Film Material Using PM Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

A polarization-maintaining （PM） fiber Mach-Zehnder （MZ） interferometer has been established to measure the EO effect of very thin film materials with optical anisotropy. Unlike a common MZ interferometer, all the components are connected via polarization-maintaining fibers. At the same time, a polarized DFB laser with a maximum power output of 10mW is adopted as the light source to induce a large extinction ratio. Here,we take it to determine the electro-optical coefficients of a very thin superlattice structure with GaAs, KTP, and GaN as comparative samples. The measured EO coefficients show good comparability with the others.

High-power electro-optic switch technology based on novel transparent ceramic

A novel high-power polarization-independent electro-optic switch technology based on a reciprocal structtire Sagnac interferometer and a transparent quadratic electro-optic ceramic is proposed and analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The electro-optic ceramic is used as a phase retarder for the clockwise and counter-clockwise polarized light, and their po- larization directions are adjusted to their orthogonal positions by using two half-wave plates. The output light then becomes polarization-independent with respect to the polarization direction of the input light. The switch characteristics, including splitter ratios and polarization states, are theoretically analyzed and simulated in detail by the matrix multiplication method. An experimental setup is built to verify the analysis and experimental results. A new component ceramic is used and a non- polarizing cube beam splitter （NPBS） replaces the beam splitter （BS） to lower the ON/OFF voltage to 305 V and improve the extinction ratio by 2 dB. Finally, the laser-induced damage threshold for the proposed switch is measured and discussed. It is believed that potential applications of this novel polarization-independent electro-optic switch technology will be wide, especially for ultrafast high-power laser systems.

Electro-optical properties cholesteric liquid of polymer stabilized crystal film＊

Liquid crystals （LCs） and polymers are extensively used in various electro-optical applications. In this paper, normal mode polymer stabilized cholesteric LC film is prepared and studied. The effects of chiral dopant and monomer concentrations on the electro-optical properties, such as contrast ratio, driving voltage, hysteresis width and response time, are investigated. The reasons of electro-optical properties influenced by the concentrations of the materials are discussed. Through the proper material recipe, the electro-optical properties of polymer stabilized cholesteric LC film can be optimized.

Recent progress in integrated electro-optic frequency comb generation

Optical frequency combs have emerged as an important tool enabling diverse applications from test-and-measurement,including spectroscopy,metrology,precision distance measurement,sensing,as well as optical and microwave waveform synthesis,signal processing,and communications.Several techniques exist to generate optical frequency combs,such as mode-locked lasers,Kerr micro-resonators,and electro-optic modulation.Important characteristics of optical frequency combs include the number of comb lines,their spacing,spectral shape and/or flatness,and intensity noise.While mode-locked lasers and Kerr micro-resonators can be used to obtain a large number of comb lines compared to electro-optic modulation,the latter provides increased flexibility in tuning the comb spacing.For some applications in optical communications and microwave photonics,a high degree of integration may be more desirable over a very large number of comb lines.In this paper,we review recent progress on integrated electro-optic frequency comb generators,including those based on indium phosphide,lithium niobate,and silicon photonics.

Organic electro-optic polymer materials and organic-based hybrid electro-optic modulators

High performance electro-optic modulator,as the key device of integrated ultra-wideband optical systems,have be-come the focus of research.Meanwhile,the organic-based hybrid electro-optic modulators,which make full use of the advant-ages of organic electro-optic(OEO)materials(e.g.high electro-optic coefficient,fast response speed,high bandwidth,easy pro-cessing/integration and low cost)have attracted considerable attention.In this paper,we introduce a series of high-perform-ance OEO materials that exhibit good properties in electro-optic activity and thermal stability.In addition,the recent progress of organic-based hybrid electro-optic devices is reviewed,including photonic crystal-organic hybrid(PCOH),silicon-organic hy-brid(SOH)and plasmonic-organic hybrid(POH)modulators.A high-performance integrated optical platform based on OEO ma-terials is a promising solution for growing high speeds and low power consumption in compact sizes.

Investigation of the mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser by polarized electroluminescence

The mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a P-I-N InGaAs/GaAs/A1GaAs vertical-cavity surface- emitting laser （VCSEL） has been studied by polarized electroluminescence （EL） at room temperature. The polarized EL spectra with E｜｜[110] and E ｜｜ [150] directions, are extracted for different injected currents. The mode splitting of the two orthogonal polarized modes for a VCSEL device is determined, and its value increases linearly with the increasing injected current due to electro-optic birefringence; This article demonstrates that the polarized EL is a powerful tool to study the mode splitting and polarization anisotropy of a VCSEL device.

Electro-optical dual modulation on resistive switching behavior in BaTiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2 heterojunction

The novel BaTiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2 multilayer heterojunction is prepared on a fluorine-doped tinoxide(FTO) substrate by the sol–gel method. The results indicate that the Pt/Ba TiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2/FTO heterojunction exhibits stable bipolar resistive switching characteristic, good retention performance, and reversal characteristic. Under different pulse voltages and light fields, four stable resistance states can also be realized. The analysis shows that the main conduction mechanism of the resistive switching characteristic of the heterojunction is space charge limited current(SCLC) effect. After the comprehensive analysis of the band diagram and the P–E ferroelectric property of the multilayer heterojunction, we can deduce that the SCLC is formed by the effect of the oxygen vacancy which is controlled by ferroelectric polarizationmodulated change of interfacial barrier. And the effective photo-generated carrier also plays a regulatory role in resistance state(RS), which is formed by the double ferroelectric layer Ba TiO3/BiFeO3 under different light fields. This research is of potential application values for developing the multi-state non-volatile resistance random access memory(RRAM) devices based on ferroelectric materials.

Electro-Optical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes Obtained by High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this work, we studied the electro-optical properties of high-aligned carbon nanotubes deposited at room temperature. For this, we used the High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition system. This system uses a new concept of plasma generation: a planar coil is coupled to an RF system for plasma generation. This was used together with an electrostatic shield, for plasma densification, thereby obtaining high-density plasmas. The carbon nanotubes were deposited using pure methane plasmas. Three methods were used for the surface modification of the sample: reference substrate (silicon wafer only submitted to a chemical cleaning), silicon wafer with surface roughness generated by plasma etching, silicon wafer with a thin iron film and silicon wafer with diamond nano powder used as precursor materials. For each kind of silicon wafer surface, the carbon nanotubes were deposited with two different deposition times (two and three hours). The carbon nanotubes structural characteristics were analyzed by Atomic Force Microscope and Scanning Electronic Microscope. The carbon nanotubes electrical characteristics were observed by Raman Spectroscopy and the carbon nanotubes electro-optical properties were analyzed by current vs voltage electrical measurements and photo-luminescence spectroscopy measurements. The photoelectric effect in the carbon nanotubes were determined by photo-induced current measurements. In this work, we obtained carbon nanotubes with semiconductor properties and carbon nanotubes with metallic properties. The electro-optical effects depend strongly on the substrate preparation and the deposition parameters of the carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotubes are high aligned and show singular properties that can be used for many applications.

Electro-optical properties of high birefringence liquid crystal compounds with isothiocyanate and naphthyl group

Liquid crystal（LC） compound with isothiocyanate and naphthyl group is an attractive high birefringence LC material,and can be used in optical devices. In this paper, the electro-optical properties of a series of this type of LC compounds were investigated. The melting points and enthalpy values of these LC compounds were higher than those of corresponding compounds with the phenyl group. These compounds exhibited high birefringence with a maximum value of 0.66. Fluorine substitution in the molecular almost does not affect the birefringence value. When these LC compounds with the naphthyl group were dissolved in a commercial LC mixture, the electro-optical properties depending on temperature were investigated. In the low-temperature region, LC mixtures with the naphthyl-group LC compounds exhibited higher viscosity than pure commercial LCs. In the high-temperature region, viscosity values very closely approached each other. When response performance was investigated, figure-of-merit（FoM） values were measured. The Fo M values of LC mixtures containing LC compounds with naphthyl group were lower than those of reference benzene LCs in the low-temperature region. However, in the high-temperature region, the results were reversed. These isothiocyanate LC compounds with naphthyl group can be applied in special fast-response LC device, particularly the ones used under high-temperature conditions.

Preparation and Microstructural,Structural,Optical and Electro-Optical Properties of La Doped Pmn-Pt Transparent Ceramics

Transparent relaxor ferroelectric ceramics of the system lanthanum modified lead magnesium niobate have been investigated for a variety of electro-optic properties could make these materials alternatives to (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3. However, a study that relates the properties in function stoichiometric formula, it has not been analyzed heretofore. Therefore, in this work the effect of A-site substitution of La+3 in the characterization microstructural, structural, optical and electro-optical on (1-x)[Pb(1-3/2y)Lay(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]-xPbTiO3 and (1-z)[(1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3+xPbTiO3]+zLa2O3 has been performed. It was observed that the properties according to the stoichiometric formula and the PT had a maximum whose behavior was related to the addition of lanthanum in each stoichiometries.

Measurement of Frequency Shift Characteristics Based on LiNbO_3 Waveguide Electro-Optic Intensity Modulator

High-speed and wide-band LiNbO3 waveguide electro-optic intensity modulator has drawn great attention in the field of optical fiber communication and sensor. This paper reports the research results on the measurement of frequency shift characteristics of Mach-Zehnder electro-optic intensity modulator. Two measurement methods of frequency shift characteristics for high and low frequency modulations are studied in theory and experiment and demonstrate different results. The realization of a multi-wavelength optical source based on Mach-Zehnder electro-optic intensity modulator has been introduced. The technique to reach the maximum intensity for interesting shift frequency, particularly for heterodyne detection of Brillouin distributed optical fiber sensing, has been given.

High-speed 2 × 2 silicon-based electro-optic switch with nanosecond switch time

A 2 × 2 electro-optic switch is experimentally demonstrated using the optical structure of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer （MZI） based on a submicron rib waveguide and the electrical structure of a PIN diode on silicon-on-insulator （SOI）. The switch behaviour is achieved through the plasma dispersion effect of silicon. The device has a modulation arm of 1 mm in length and cross-section of 400 nm×340 nm. The measurement results show that the switch has a VπLπ figure of merit of 0.145 V.cm and the extinction ratios of two output ports and cross talk are 40 dB, 28 dB and -28 dB, respectively. A 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 90 MHz and a switch time of 6.8 ns for the rise edge and 2.7 ns for the fall edge are also demonstrated.

Low-power electro-optic phase modulator based on multilayer graphene/silicon nitride waveguide

Electro-optic modulator is a key component for on-chip optical signal processing.An electro-optic phase modulator based on multilayer graphene embedded in silicon nitride waveguide is demonstrated to fulfill low-power operation.Finite element method is adopted to investigate the interaction enhancement between the graphene flake and the optical mode.The impact of multilayer graphene on the performance of phase modulator is studied comprehensively.Simulation results show that the modulation efficiency improves with the increment of graphene layer number,as well as the modulation length.The 3-dB bandwidth of around 48 GHz is independent of graphene layer number and length.Compared to modulator with two-or four-layer graphene,the six-layer graphene/silicon nitride waveguide modulator can realizeπphase shift at a low-power consumption of 14 fJ/bit when the modulation length is 240μm.

Electro-optic Properties of DR1 Doped SiO_2 Organic/inorganic Guest-host Films

We made a comprehensive investigation on the electro-optic（EO） properties of hybrid sol-gel silica film doped with Dispersed Red 1 dye（DR1/SiO2）. An important finding is that the dipoles which don＇t orient along the direction of corona poling field in the films can be instantaneously poled by alternate modulation electrical field. This instant poling effect results in the EO coefficients dependent on the frequency and intensity of alternate modulation electric field, and some experiments have proved it. We also investigated the electro-optic coefficients and thickness of films at different stir temperatures（Ts） of start solution and at different number densities of DR1. Experimentally the DR1 number density was optimized to an order of 1021/cm^3 and a large EO coefficient of γ33= 37 pm/V for DR1/SiO2 film was measured by simple reflection technique at 1 kHz frequencies of modulation electric field. These findings may benefit the practical application of DR1/SiO2 films in the field of EO modulator and EO probing.

Control Schemes for Driving Electro-optic Array Beam Deflectors

The beam deflectors based on electro-optic phased array（EOPA） is mainly described, and then an analysis on existing control schemes for driving the EOPA beam deflectors, based on custom hard-wired electronics or based on software in a microcontroUer, is made. Compared with these, a driving and control system for a multi-channel EOPA beam deflector is presented, in which the control assignment is implemented with a field programmable gate array（FPGA） chip. For different performance requirements, two control schemes, one with the serial scheme and another with the parallel scheme, have been explored and rapidly prototyped in Xilinx FPGA chips. With the control structures for the EOPA beam deflector, scanning rates of 588 kHz and 5 MHz can be respectivelv reached.