We present a fibre-based swept-source optical coherence tomography system based on a translation stage to scan sections of ex-vivo tissue samples, achieving a scanning range of 5x5mm2 at a minimum scanning step resolution of 0.5μm
III-V based devices have provided unsurpassed performance enabling the rapid advancement of data-communications over the past decades. Yet the integration of these components is still primitive leading to high costs due to the packaging challenges. Heterogeneous integration using controlled release of the essential device layers from individual source wafers and engineered parallel transfer to a common platform is a very promising approach as it takes the best materials and devices, produced in a conventional foundry environment, to produce powerful photonic circuits on target waveguiding platforms such as silicon-on-insulator. The devices can be pre- or post-processed and optically integrated to the silicon waveguides using butt, evanescent or potentially grating coupling. Laser devices are the most critical since they cannot easily be realized in Si. We demonstrate the transfer of lasers based on InP quantum wells where the devices are bonded by van der Waals forces. We have also demonstrated the release and transfer of silicon microcircuits, GaN materials and dielectric layers. We study the interface property between the transferred materials (e.g. InP) and the target wafer (Si). There is an improvement in device performance after the transfer due to the high thermal conductivity of Si. This approach will allow more sophisticated circuits due to the ease of including multi-wavelength lasers as well as modulating and detecting functions along with specialty materials such as potentially lithium niobate or magnetic materials. The technique enables close integration of photonics with electronics platforms and thus a route to widespread consumer applications for III-V devices.
An automated heterodyne method is proposed to characterize sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector (SG-DBR) lasers in terms of their lasing output wavelength, side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) and output power. Such lasers are the core of akinetic all-semiconductor based swept sources for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the technique and obtain a broader optical and electrical understanding in DC and AC operation. A JDSU Agile SG-DBR laser was characterized and found to have a tuning range ≈ 60 nm, a center wavelength λc = 1540 nm and average lasing power of 10 mW. The result of the AC characterization is a ‘tuning dictionary' that contains 379 tuning points (10 μs per tuning point).
This paper outlines the development of a prototype optical burst mode switching network based upon a star topology, the ultimate application of which could be as a transparent payload processor onboard satellite repeaters. The network architecture incorporates multiple tunable laser sources, burst mode receivers and a passive optical router (Arrayed Waveguide Grating). Each tunable optical signal should carry ≥10Gbps and be capable of wavelength switching in c. 5ns timescales. Two monolithic tunable laser types, based upon different technologies, will be utilised: a Slotted Fabry Perot laser (a Fabry Perot laser with slots added in order to introduce controlled cavity perturbations); and a Modulated Grating Y-Branch Laser (MGY: a widely tunable, multi-section device similar to the DBR laser). While the Slotted Fabry Perot laser is expected to achieve the required switching times, it is an immature technology not yet capable of achieving tunability over 80 ITU channels from a single chip. The MGY device is a more mature technology and has full C-band ITU channel coverage, but is not capable of the required short switching times. Hence, in order to facilitate the integration of this more mature technology into the prototype breadboard with the requisite switching time capabilities, a system of ‘dual laser’ transmitters is being developed to enable data transmission from one MGY laser while the other switches and vice-versa. This work is being performed under ESA contract AO 1-5025/06/NL/PM, Optical Technologies for Ultra - fast Processing.
Confinement of light at submicron wavelengths is of great importance for highly specific sensing of bio-molecules and
for compact photonic circuits based on waveguiding. Currently this confinement can be achieved through the well
established high index contrast silicon on insulator (SOI) platform. However this material combination requires light at
wavelengths beyond 1 micron where the component cost of the InP based lasers and photodetectors are very expensive.
It is thus of great interest to develop a similar platform that could operate in the range of 850 nm where low cost lasers
(e.g. Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers as used in optical mice) and detectors (e.g., as used in camera phones) are
readily available. A possible high index material suited to this application is Gallium Phosphide which has a bandgap of
2.26 eV and refractive index of ~ 3.2 at this wavelength. For the highest index contrast, GaP should be grown on a
substrate with low index of refraction such as quartz (n=1.5) or sapphire (1.7). We report on the design and
characteristics of GaP waveguides grown on c-plane (0001) sapphire substrates using metalorganic vapour phase
epitaxy. Growth parameters such as substrate temperature and, in particular, the V:III ratio are reviewed with respect to
their effect on the nucleation, surface roughness and uniformity of the films. Modal analysis and the design of a grating
coupler at wavelengths around 850 nm have been designed for GaP on sapphire using vectorial finite element method in
order to validate the feasibility of GaP waveguides.
We report on quantum well intermixing of AlInGaAs-MQWs using the impurity-free vacancy diffusion method with
dielectric capping layers which has potential for realization of photonic integrated circuits. The extent of the bandgap
shifts with respect to different dielectric capping layers and alloy temperatures are investigated. The intermixing inhibitor
and promoter are then integrated using combination of SiO2 and SiNx dielectric capping layers which shows a
differential photoluminescence wavelength more than 110 nm. Based on this developed intermixing technique, we have
fabricated AlInGaAs-InP based material stripe lasers emitting at two different wavelength ranges centered at 1519 nm
and 1393 nm respectively. Characterizations including the current-voltage and electroluminescence measurements show
that the integration of two-bandgaps can be achieved and furthermore a differential wavelength in lasing spectra up to
120 nm is demonstrated.
An investigation into the carrier and spectral dynamics of a 1.55 μm Buried Tunnel Junction (BTJ) VCSEL
was carried out by examining the emission spectra under high resolution and the voltage across the junction
as polarisation resolved light from a tunable laser source was injected into the cavity. The VCSEL combines
an epitaxial InGaAlAs distributed Bragg reflector with a Si/ZnS dielectric reflector and an oval shaped BTJ
leading to a predominantly single transverse polarisation mode and laser linewidths as low as 20 MHz. Around
lasing threshold and injecting into the primary mode, the voltage required to maintain the current drops due to
stimulated emission and a consequent reduction in the carrier density. Locking behaviour associated with this
characteristic is measured with increased input power. Voltage drops as large as 6 mV are measured. Above
threshold, injection locking is measured in addition to features associated with the relaxation oscillations of the
carriers.
We present an efficient laser welding assembling sequence for minimizing the misalignment from the postweld shift in butterfly packages during fiber-to-semiconductor laser coupling. The misalignment from the postweld shift that arises during the welding of a nickel clip and metal ferrule can be compensated by an optimal initial shift prior to Nd:YAG laser welding and by a mechanical adjustment prior to the laser hammering process. As a result, the number of laser hammering sequences required to compensate for misalignment are significantly reduced.
The performance of a series of near-UV (~385 nm) emitting LEDs, consisting of high efficiency InGaN/AlInGaN QWs in the active region, was investigated. Significantly reduced roll-over of efficiency at high current density was found compared to InGaN/GaN LEDs emitting at a similar wavelength. The importance of optical cavity effects in flip-chip geometry devices has also been investigated. The light output was enhanced by more than a factor of 2 when the light-emitting region was located at an anti-node position with respect to a high reflectivity current injection mirror. A power of 0.49 mW into a numerical aperture of 0.5 was obtained for a junction area of 50 micrometers in diameter and a current of 30 mA, corresponding to a radiance of 30 W/cm2/str.
This project has developed a low cost in-home network compatible with network standard IEEE1394b. We have developed all components of the network, from the red resonant cavity LEDs and VCSELs as light sources, the driver circuitry, plastic optical fibres for transmission, up to the network management software. We demonstrate plug-and-play operation of S100 and S200 (125 and 250Mbps) data streams using 650nm RCLEDs, and S400 (500 Mbps) data streams using VCSELs. The network software incorporates Home Audio Video interoperability (HAVi), which allows any HAVi device to be hot-plugged into the network and be instantly recognised and controllable over the network.
We report the integration of phase gratings directly onto the surface of red vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) by Focused Ion Beam etching. Gratings have been used to generate quasi Bessel beams. The fabricated devices show that a diffraction limited central spot can be formed above the surface of the device. The narrow spot has a full width at half maximum of 0.5μm at a distance of 2μm above the VCSEL surface. The compact device can be formed in arrays and can be considered for a large number of sensing applications such as an optical probe for biophotonics and in optical recording systems.
We report on the development of resonant cavity LEDs (RCLEDs) for use in short distance datacommunication applications using the IEEE 1394 standard where plastic optical fibre (POF) is the physical medium. The devices are designed for 650nm and 500nm emission where POF has low attenuation. The red devices based on InGaAlP/GaAs are optimised for room temperature operation and 90μm diameter devices have a maximum coupled power to 1mm diameter POF of 1mW. At 10mA the coupled power is 0.4mW with a quantum efficiency of 2%. Current spreading is shown to be critical in optimising the output power. The devices function as resonant cavity detectors with a response FWHM of 4.2nm centred at 650nm. The blue-green RCLEDs are based on InGaN/GaN and use a hybrid metal-epitaxial mirror cavity. This wavelength is preferable for longer links. The substrate emitting devices have fibre-coupled powers of 200μW at 20mA. A datarate of 250Mb/s is measured. The resonant cavity is confirmed by angularly resolved spectral measurements. The tradeoff between green and red devices is discussed.
We report on the combined theoretical and experimental observation of an increase of the small signal modulation response of a Laterally Coupled Diode Laser (LCDL) system beyond its relaxation oscillation frequency. The increase is achieved by means of lateral coupling. Theoretical approaches are presented to explain the experimental observations obtained with these LCDL devices. Our results shed light on the principle of diode laser coupling an open up new perspectives for LCDL for high-speed optical communications.
Theoretical studies of twin stripe laser arrays have shown an enhanced modulation bandwidth over that achieved with single stripe devices. However, experimental data from the devices has concentrated mainly on the device spatio-temporal dynamics, by observation of the near- and far- fields. To our knowledge, only few experiments have been conducted to extract modeling parameters to feed the simulation with approximate values of its parameters. In this paper, based on our own experimental data from a twin stripe array, we clarify the role of the real and imaginary parts of the coupling constant. In the present paper we present procedures to evaluate their sign and modulus.
The effects of inter-ridge coupling on both the static and high frequency properties of twin stripe laterally coupled lasers emitting at a wavelength of 1.3 micrometers are investigated. It is found that when both ridges are lasing, the emission spectrum is multi longitudinal mode, with each peak being single valued close to threshold, or split in two at higher biases. Spectrally resolved near and far field measurements are made which clearly distinguish that the system lases predominantly in the out-of-phase mode close to threshold, whereas it lases in both in-phase and out-of-phase modes at higher biases. The out-of-phase mode is found to emit at higher frequencies than the in-phase mode.
Laterally coupled diode lasers emitting at 1.3 um are presented. Devices were fabricated with distances between ridges varying from 2.76 um to 8.32 um. Electronic coupling effects are investigated by individually varying the currents in each ridge while monitoring output power. It is observed that for devices with 8.32 um separation between ridges there is minimal current sharing, whereas for 2.76 um separation there is considerable current sharing. Optical coupling is measured via the far-field, where most devices show out-of-phase locking, although in-phase locking is observed in a minority of cases. Devices therefore show conditions necessary for the observation of high speed dynamics.
In this paper we focus on the impact of planar microcavity structures on the spontaneous emission times and bandwidths of light emitting diodes. We compare microcavity and non- microcavity devices and show that the light extraction is ten times more efficient for the microcavity devices, while the small-signal modulation bandwidth remains unchanged. Bandwidths in excess of 1 GHz are obtained. The power- bandwidth figure of merit for the microcavity devices is thus of the order of ten times greater than for the non- microcavity devices. The role of photon-recycling on the bandwidth is investigated. It is found that no major reduction in the bandwidth occurs due to recycling for devices up to 85 micrometers in diameter.
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