Sangyoun Gee

Optical frequency combs from semiconductor lasers and applications in ultrawideband signal processing and communications

Modelocked semiconductor lasers are used to generate a set of phase-locked optical frequencies on a periodic grid. The periodic and phase coherent nature of the optical frequency combs makes it possible for the realization of high-performance optical and RF arbitrary-waveform synthesis. In addition, the resulting optical frequency components can be used for communication applications relying on direct detection, dense wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), coherent-detection WDM, optical time-division multiplexing, and optical code division multiple access. This paper highlights the recent results in the use of optical frequency combs generated from semiconductors for ultrawideband signal processing and communication applications.

Ultraflat Optical Comb Generation by Phase-Only Modulation of Continuous-Wave Light

We propose a theory and experimentally verify ultraflat comb generation by dual-sine-wave phase-only modulation. This novel approach requires a single optical element and is very practical and efficient in terms of both power budget and bandwidth. Using this approach, we have generated two optical spectra, one with 11 comb lines and 1.9-dB flatness and the other with 9 comb lines and 0.8-dB flatness.

Simultaneous optical comb frequency stabilization and super-mode noise suppression of harmonically mode-locked semiconductor ring laser using an intracavity etalon

Using an intracavity Pound-Drever-Hall technique, simultaneous optical frequency comb stabilization within /spl plusmn/3-MHz range and super-mode phase noise suppression were demonstrated for a 10-GHz harmonically mode-locked semiconductor ring laser. Together with an additional phase-lock loop, timing jitter integrated from 10 Hz to 10 MHz (5 GHz) was 63.5 fs (161 fs).

Harmonically mode-locked semiconductor-based lasers as high repetition rate ultralow noise pulse train and optical frequency comb sources

Recent experimental work on semiconductor-based harmonically mode-locked lasers geared toward low noise applications is reviewed. Active, harmonic mode-locking of semiconductor-based lasers has proven to be an excellent way to generate 10 GHz repetition rate pulse trains with pulse-to-pulse timing jitter of only a few femtoseconds without requiring active feedback stabilization. This level of timing jitter is achieved in long fiberized ring cavities and relies upon such factors as low noise rf sources as mode-lockers, high optical power, intracavity dispersion management and intracavity phase modulation. When a high finesse etalon is placed within the optical cavity, semiconductor-based harmonically mode-locked lasers can be used as optical frequency comb sources with 10 GHz mode spacing. When active mode-locking is replaced with regenerative mode-locking, a completely self-contained comb source is created, referenced to the intracavity etalon.

High-power mode-locked external cavity semiconductor laser using inverse bow-tie semiconductor optical amplifiers

This paper presents experimental results of using an inverse bow-tie gain guided semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) as the optical gain element in a high-power external cavity semiconductor laser. An average output power of 700 mW is demonstrated in continuous-wave (CW) operation while 400 mW of average power is obtained in both passive and hybrid mode-locked operation, with subsequent optical amplification in an identical SOA. The mode-locked laser operates at a repetition rate of 1.062 GHz, owing to the interplay between the gain and saturable absorber dynamics. Optical pulses are generated with a temporal duration of 5 ps, which implies a pulse energy of 376 pJ, and a peak power of 60 W. Further reduction of the optical pulsewidth to 1.3 ps is also achieved by using dispersion compensation techniques. These results show the promise of novel SOA devices for use as gain elements in external cavity semiconductor lasers. The generated output pulse characteristics from mode-locked operation is sufficient for use in novel three-dimensional data storage applications, and in large-scale commercial printing and marking applications.

Self-Stabilization of an Actively Mode-Locked Semiconductor-Based Fiber-Ring Laser for Ultralow Jitter

Noise characteristics are studied for a self-stabilized laser utilizing the interplay between the intracavity dispersion and the optical frequency shift. The noise suppression bandwidth of this scheme is from 0 to ~100 KHz and showed the reduction of residual timing jitter (integrated from 0.9 Hz to 1 MHz) from 2.2fs to 660 attosecond which represents, to our knowledge, the lowest timing jitter reported for an actively mode-locked laser

High-Power, Low-Noise 1.5-μm Slab-Coupled Optical Waveguide (SCOW) Emitters: Physics, Devices, and Applications

We review the development of a new class of high-power, edge-emitting, semiconductor optical gain medium based on the slab-coupled optical waveguide (SCOW) concept. We restrict the scope to InP-based devices incorporating either InGaAsP or InGaAlAs quantum-well active regions and operating in the 1.5-μm-wavelength region. Key properties of the SCOW gain medium include large transverse optical mode dimensions (>;5 × 5 μm), ultralow optical confinement factor (Γ ~ 0.25-1%), and small internal loss coefficient (αi ~ 0.5 cm-1). These properties have enabled the realization of 1) packaged Watt-class semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) having low-noise figure (4-5 dB), 2) monolithic passively mode-locked lasers generating 0.25-W average output power, 3) external-cavity fiber-ring actively mode-locked lasers exhibiting residual timing jitter of <;10 fs (1Hz to Nyquist), and 4) single-frequency external-cavity lasers producing 0.37-W output power with Gaussian (Lorentzian) linewidth of 35 kHz (1.75 kHz) and relative intensity noise (RIN) <; -160 dB/Hz from 200 kHz to 10 GHz. We provide an overview the SCOW design principles, describe simulation results that quantify the performance limitations due to confinement factor, linear optical loss mechanisms, and nonlinear two-photon absorption (TPA) loss, and review the SCOW devices that have been demonstrated and applications that these devices are expected to enable.

Self-Stabilization of the Optical Frequencies and the Pulse Repetition Rate in a Coupled Optoelectronic Oscillator

A coupled optoelectronic oscillator (COEO) based on a laser with a high finesse intracavity etalon is presented. Unlike a conventional COEO, the incorporation of the etalon produces a 10.24-GHz spaced optical frequency comb by selecting a single optical supermode. The same etalon serves as a reference for active stabilization of the optical frequencies and the pulse repetition rate via the Pound-Drever-Hall stabilization method. This results in 160 to 190 comb lines with sub-1-MHz drift and sub-10-kHz linewidth, as well as subpicosecond pulses and 350-Hz maximum deviation of the pulse repetition rate over 10 min. The completely self-contained source allows the COEO utility to extend to a host of new coherent communication and signal processing applications.

Ultralow-jitter and -amplitude-noise semiconductor-based actively mode-locked laser

We report a semiconductor-based, low-noise, 10.24 GHz actively mode-locked laser with 4.65 fs of relative timing jitter and a 0.0365% amplitude fluctuation (1 Hz to 100 MHz) of the optical pulse train. The keys to obtaining this result were the lasers high optical power and the low phase noise of the rf source used to mode lock the laser. The low phase noise of the rf source not only improves the absolute and relative timing jitter of the laser, but also prevents coupling of the rf source phase noise to the pulse amplitude fluctuations by the mode-locked laser.

Ultrashort pulse generation by intracavity spectral shaping and phase compensation of external-cavity modelocked semiconductor lasers

Intracavity spectral shaping and external chirp compensation techniques were employed to generate nearly transform-limited optical pulses with a temporal duration of 250 fs from an external-cavity modelocked semiconductor laser. It was also demonstrated that intracavity spectral shaping techniques can be used for artificially tailoring the chirp of the output pulses.