Ultra-Low Linewidth Frequency Stabilized Integrated Lasers: A New Frontier in Integrated Photonics

With the advancement of photonic integration technology,ultra-low linewidth frequency-stabilized lasers have demonstrated significant potential in precision measurement,quantum communication,atomic clocks,etc.This review summarizes the latest developments in integrated photonics for achieving ultra-low linewidth lasers,particularly breakthroughs made by integrating Brillouin lasers.We discuss the design principles,manufacturing processes,performance characteristics,and potential value of these lasers in various applications.

High-power,narrow linewidth solid-state deep ultraviolet laser generation at 193 nm by frequency mixing in LBO crystals

A 60-mW solid-state deep ultraviolet(DUV)laser at 193 nm with narrow linewidth is obtained with two stages of sum frequency generation in LBO crystals.The pump lasers,at 258 and 1553 nm,are derived from a homemade Yb-hybrid laser employing fourth-harmonic generation and Er-doped fiber laser,respectively.The Yb-hybrid laser,finally,is power scaling by a 2 mm×2 mm×30 mm Yb:YAG bulk crystal.Accompanied by the generated 220-mW DUV laser at 221 nm,the 193-nm laser delivers an average power of 60 mW with a pulse duration of 4.6 ns,a repetition rate of 6 kHz,and a linewidth of∼640 MHz.To the best of our knowledge,this is the highest power of 193-and 221-nm laser generated by an LBO crystal ever reported as well as the narrowest linewidth of 193-nm laser by it.Remarkably,the conversion efficiency reaches 27%for 221 to 193 nm and 3%for 258 to 193 nm,which are the highest efficiency values reported to date.We demonstrate the huge potential of LBO crystals for producing hundreds of milliwatt or even watt level 193-nm laser,which also paves a brand-new way to generate other DUV laser wavelengths.

Effect of DBR Geometry on Reflectivity and Spectral Linewidth of DBR Lasers

The linewidths of InGaAs-GaAs-AlGaAs DBR lasers with varied DBR dimensional parameters are measured and analyzed. These lasers were built with different DBR grating lengths and depths in order to explore the effect of the size of the DBR on its coupling coefficient and reflectivity,and hence on the linewidth of the laser diodes. The linewidths were measured by employing a self heterodyne linewidth measurement system. The experimental and calculated data for DBR reflectivity and spectral linewidth are given. The relationship between these data and the dimensions of the DBR is analyzed. Based on this analysis,the effect of the DBR geometry on the linewidth of the lasers is explored. The results give useful information related to the design and fabrication of such DBR lasers.

Influence of laser linewidth on performance of Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry

The effects of optical sources with different laser linewidths on Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry （BOTDR） are investigated numerically and experimentally. Simulation results show that the spectral linewidth of spontaneous Brillouin scattering remains almost constant when the laser linewidth is less than 1 MHz at the same pulse width; otherwise, it increases sharply. A comparison between a fiber laser （FL） with 4-kHz linewidth at 3 dB and a distributed feedback （DFB） laser with 3-MHz linewidth is made experimentally. When a constant laser power is launched into the sensing fiber, the fitting linewidths of the beat signals （backscattered Brillouin light and local oscillator （LO）） is about 5 MHz wider for the DFB laser than for the FL and the intensity of the beat signal is about a half. Furthermore, the frequency fluctuation in the long sensing fiber is lower for the FL source, yielding about 2 MHz less than that of the DFB laser, indicating higher temperature/strain resolution. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical simulations.

Two-hertz-linewidth Nd:YAG lasers at 1064 nm stabilized to vertically mounted ultra-stable cavities

Two Nd：YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm are separately servo-locked to two vertically mounted ultra-stable cavities. The optical heterodyne beat between two cavity-stabilized lasers shows that the linewidth of each laser reaches 2 Hz and the average frequency drift reduces to less than 1 Hz/s.

Broad bandwidth interference filter-stabilized external cavity diode laser with narrow linewidth below 100kHz

Interference filter-stabilized external cavity diode lasers （ECDLs） have properties of simple configurations, high sta- bilities, and narrow linewidths. However, the interference filter used in common ECDL designs requires an ultra-narrow bandwidth （about 0.3 nm） to achieve mode selection, that is considerably expensive and not yet available for a wide range of wavelengths. In this paper, a robust ECDL using an available broad bandwidth （about 4 nm） interference filter as the wavelength discriminator is constructed and tested. The ECDL demonstrated a narrow Lorentzian fitted linewidth of 95 kHz and a spectral purity of 2.9 MHz. The long-term frequency stability of the ECDL reaches 5.59 x 10 12.

Waveguide external cavity narrow linewidth semiconductor lasers

Narrow linewidth light source is a prerequisite for high-performance coherent optical communication and sensing.Waveguide-based external cavity narrow linewidth semiconductor lasers(WEC-NLSLs)have become a competitive and attractive candidate for many coherent applications due to their small size,volume,low energy consumption,low cost and the ability to integrate with other optical components.In this paper,we present an overview of WEC-NLSLs from their required technologies to the state-of-the-art progress.Moreover,we highlight the common problems occurring to current WEC-NLSLs and show the possible approaches to resolving the issues.Finally,we present the possible development directions for the next phase and hope this review will be beneficial to the advancements of WEC-NLSLs.

Transportable 1555-nm Ultra-Stable Laser with Sub-0.185-Hz Linewidth

We present two cavity-stabilized lasers at 1555 nm, which are built to be the frequency source for a transportable photonic microwave generation system. The frequency instability reaches the thermal noise limit （7 ×10-16） of the 10-cm ultra-low expansion glass cavity at 1-10s averaging time and the beat signal of the two lasers reveals a remarkable linewidth of 185mHz.

Investigation of Tolerable Laser Linewidth for Different Modulation Formats in CO-OFDM Systems

The ideal behavior of communication system requires a single frequency carrier. In optical communication system, light is used as a carrier. Practical laser source has a finite linewidth due to variations in the frequency of operation, hence, resulting in undesired phase perturbations in the signal whereas the ideal requirement is the delta function spectral shape at the carrier frequency. The spectral shape gets broadened due to phase noise and is modeled as lorentzian shape. Linewidth is a measure of stability of laser phase noise with time. Coherent Optical Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) along with the spectrally efficient Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) formats is emerging as one of the best solutions for future high speed fiber transmission systems. Though the coherent, receivers have advantages in terms of sensitivity and selectivity, laser phase noise is the main limitation of such systems as the laser phase noise further causes common phase rotation of all the subcarriers per symbol and also results in inter carrier interference. QAM formats are also susceptible to laser phase noise. Phase noise in coherent systems is governed by laser linewidth. Hence, it is very important to investigate the impact of laser linewidth in CO-OFDM systems. This paper investigates the tolerable laser linewidths for different QAM formats in a 40 Gbps COOFDM system.

Influence of laser linewidth on external-cavity frequency doubling efficiency of a 1.56 μm master oscillator fiber power amplifier

By using an external-cavity frequency-doubling master oscillator fiber power amplifier （MOPA）, a 700 mW continuous-wave single-frequency laser source at 780 nm is produced. It is shown that the frequency doubling efficiency is improved when the seed diode laser is optically locked to a resonant frequency of a confocal Fabry-Perot （F-P） cavity. This phenomenon can be attributed to the narrowing of the 1.56 μm laser linewidth and explained by our presented theoretical model. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Widely-wavelength-tunable brillouin fiber laser with improved optical signal-to-noise ratio based on parity-time symmetric and saturable absorption effect

A widely-wavelength-tunable Brillouin fiber laser(BFL)with improved optical signal-to-noise ratio(OSNR)based on parity-time(PT)symmetric and saturable absorption(SA)effect is present.This novel BFL realizes PT symmetry and SA effect through polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber(PM-EDF)Sagnac loop,which is composed of a PM-EDF,a coupler and two polarization controllers(PCs).By using the inherent birefringence characteristic of PM-EDF,two feedback loops in orthogonal polarization state are formed when the Strokes signal in injected.One of these loops provides gain in the clockwise direction with in the Sagnac loop,while the other loop generates loss in the counterclockwise direction.By adjusting the PCs to control the polarization state of the PM-EDF,a single-longitudinal-mode(SLM)BFL can be achieved,as the PT symmetry is broken when the SA participating stimulated Brillouin scattering(SBS)gain and loss are well-matched and the gain surpasses the coupling coefficient.Compared to previous BFLs,the proposed BFL has a more streamlined structure and a wider wavelength tunable range,at the same time,it is not being limited by the bandwidth of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier while still maintaining narrow linewidth SLM output.Additionally,thanks to SA effect of the PM-EDF,the PT symmetric SBS gain contract is enhanced,resulting in a higher optical signal-to-noise(OSNR).The experimental results show that the laser has a wide tunable range of 1526.088 nm to 1565.498 nm,an improved OSNR of 77 dB,and a fine linewidth as small as 140.5 Hz.

Influences of semiconductor laser on fibre-optic distributed disturbance sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer

This paper investigates the influences of a semiconductor laser with narrow linewidth on a fibre-optic distributed disturbance sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer. It establishes an effective numerical model to describe the noises and linewidth of a semiconductor laser, taking into account their correlations. Simulation shows that frequency noise has great influences on location errors and their relationship is numerically investigated. Accordingly, there is need to determine the linewidth of the laser less than a threshold and obtain the least location errors. Furthermore, experiments are performed by a sensor prototype using three semiconductor lasers with different linewidths, respectively, with polarization maintaining optical fibres and couplers to eliminate the polarization induced noises and fading. The agreement of simulation with experimental results means that the proposed numerical model can make a comprehensive description of the noise behaviour of a semiconductor laser. The conclusion is useful for choosing a laser source for fibre-optic distributed disturbance sensor to achieve optimized location accuracy. What is more, the proposed numerical model can be widely used for analysing influences of semiconductor lasers on other sensing, communication and optical signal processing systems.

Ultra-high spectral purity laser derived from weak external distributed perturbation

Ultra-high spectral purity lasers are of considerable research interests in numerous fields such as coherent optical communication,microwave photonics,distributed optical fiber sensing,gravitational wave detection,optical clock,and so on.Herein,to deeply purify laser spectrum with compact size under normal condition,we propose a novel and practical idea to effectively suppress the spontaneous radiation of the laser cavity through weak external distributed perturbation.Subsequently,a laser configuration consisting of a main lasing cavity and an external distributed feedback cavity is proposed.The feedback signal with continuous spatio-temporal phase transition controlled by a distributed feedback structure is injected into the main cavity,which can deeply suppress the coupling rate from the spontaneous radiation to the stimulated emission and extremely purify the laser spectrum.Eventually,an ultra-narrow linewidth on-chip laser system with a side mode suppression ratio greater than 80 dB,an output linewidth of 10 Hz,and a relative intensity noise less than-150 dB/Hz is successfully obtained under normal conditions.The proposed concept in this work provides a new perspective for extreme regulation of laser parameters by using weak external distributed perturbation,which can be valid for various gain-type lasers with wide wavelength bands.

A New Kind of Self-Frequency-Stabilization 1.3μM Single Frequency Coherent Source with 10MW and a Spectrum Linewidth in the Order of Kilohertz

The design of 1.3μm He-Ne single frequency laser for optical fiber communication is in-troduced.The scheme for obtaining steady single-mode oscillation by raising gas pressureand the method of getting linear-polarization single frequency output by longitudinal Zeemaneffect are present.The relations of linewidth to some factors are discussed.

Gain Measurement and Anomalous Decrease of Peak Gain at Long Wavelength for InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Lasers

Mode gain spectrum is measured by the Fourier series expansion method for InAs/GaAs quantum-dot （QD） lasers with seven stacks of QDs at different injection currents. Gain spectra with distinctive peaks are observed at the short and long wavelengths of about 1210nm and 1300nm. For a QD laser with the cavity length of 1060μm, the peak gain of the long wavelength first increases slowly or even decreases with the injection current as the peak gain of the short wavelength increases quickly, and finally increases quickly before approaching the saturated values as the injection current further increases.

Numerical Simulation of External-Cavity Distributed Feedback Semiconductor Laser

We propose a theoretical model to describe external-cavity distributed feedback semiconductor lasers and investigate the impact of the number of external feedback points on linewidth and side-mode suppression ratio through numerical simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that the linewidth of external-cavity semiconductor lasers can be reduced by increasing the external cavity length and feedback ratio, and adding more external feedback points can further narrow the linewidth and enhance the side mode suppression ratio. This research provides insight into the external cavity distributed feedback mechanism and can guide the design of high-performance external cavity semiconductor lasers. .

基于多纵模振荡种子源的高功率窄线宽光纤激光器关键技术分析及研究现状

基于多纵模振荡种子源的窄线宽光纤激光器具有光路简单、结构紧凑、可靠性高、成本低等特点,在实际工程应用以及在空间受限的载荷平台上有着显著优势,是高功率光谱合成的理想子束模块。受自脉冲效应的影响,多纵模振荡种子源的时域特性较差,导致放大过程中会产生较强的光谱展宽与受激拉曼散射效应。这限制了其输出功率的进一步提升并降低了其光谱纯度。本文首先介绍了4种常见的窄线宽种子源,并重点分析了多纵模振荡种子源中自脉冲效应产生的机理及抑制方法,对优化多纵模振荡种子源和放大器的关键技术进行了详细介绍,归纳总结了近几年的技术突破与研究成果,对未来的发展方向进行了展望分析。本文研究对基于多纵模振荡种子源的窄线宽激光器的功率提升和光谱优化提供一定思路。

基于光学反馈频率锁定的窄线宽稳定中红外激光产生技术研究

中红外精密激光光谱技术在痕量气体检测、基本物理常数测定等领域都有重要应用,然而由于缺乏窄线宽、稳定的中红外光源,很难实现中红外精密光谱测量.本文介绍了一种基于光学反馈频率锁定的窄线宽稳定中红外激光产生技术,分析了光学反馈实现激光到F-P腔锁定的可行性,利用一个高精细度中红外超稳F-P腔作为频率参考,基于光学反馈技术实现了量子级联激光器到该超稳腔的锁定.经过评估得到激光器线宽被压窄到1.1 Hz,压窄激光线宽的同时稳定了激光频率,将激光器的长期漂移控制在20 kHz/12 h.其中,为了获取长时间稳定的光学反馈,基于PDH技术获取了误差信号,用于对反馈相位的实时伺服控制.

基于保偏布喇格光栅的窄线宽半导体激光器

为了研制面向量子精密测量应用的近红外波段光纤光栅外腔半导体激光器,采用独立设计的高偏振依赖增益芯片和双折射光纤布喇格光栅,通过法布里-珀罗等效谐振腔模型,系统分析了光栅反射率、外腔和芯片长度对激光线宽的影响。结果表明,所研制激光器实现了54.46 mW的输出功率、58.88 dB的边模抑制比和24.46 dB的偏振消光比,利用延迟自外差拍频方法测得的洛伦兹线宽低至2.69 kHz。此研究为独立设计制备分立器件的单频窄线宽外腔半导体激光器提供参考,有望应用于雷达成像、陀螺仪、磁力仪和原子钟等量子精密测量领域。

高功率线偏振窄线宽光纤激光器TMI抑制

高功率线偏振窄线宽光纤激器在功率光谱合成、相干探测等方面具有广泛的应用前景。在高功率线偏振窄线宽光纤激光器中,模式不稳定(TMI)效应是限制其功率提升的主要因素之一。本文分析了TMI效应对高功率线偏振窄线宽光纤激光器输出功率的影响,提出了TMI效应的抑制方法。文章采用长波泵浦技术,输出功率100 mW的单频激光器作为种子源,相位调制器将种子源线宽展宽至25 GHz,经三级放大,最终实现了线宽25 GHz、功率2.2 kW、中心波长1064 nm、消光比98%的线偏振窄线宽激光输出,光束质量M_(x)^(2)=1.2、M_(y)^(2)=1.21。分析了泵浦波长对TMI效应的影响:由于光线芯径较小(20μm),增益光纤对泵浦光吸收系数较高(1.8 dB/m@976 nm),纤芯温度较高,加上泵浦光量子亏损引入的热,导致纤芯折射率发生变化,较低功率下发生TMI效应,当泵浦波长向长波偏移时,泵浦光的量子亏损降低,同时泵浦吸收系数也降低,无论在光纤全长、还是单位长度上的热分布均减小,增大了TMI阈值,提升了线偏振窄线宽光纤激光器的输出功率。