High peak power, sub-ps green emission in a passively mode locked W-cavity VECSEL.

We report on the experimental results of a passively mode-locked vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL), implemented in a W-cavity configuration, using a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal for intra-cavity second harmonic generation (SHG) at 528 nm. The W-cavity configuration allows separation of the crystal from the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), enabling independent control over the Gaussian beam sizes at the crystal, chip, and SESAM. This optimized cavity demonstrated a second harmonic pulse width of ~760 fs at a frequency of 465 MHz and 230 mW average output power, resulting in a peak pulse power of 580 W.

Generation of high-power spatially structured beams using vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers.

In this paper, we demonstrate the generation of high-power and spatially structured beams using vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers (VECSEL). At the fundamental wavelength, an intracavity mode-control element is first employed to generate a range of Hermite-Gaussian (HG) modes in a linear cavity. The same HG modes are then excited and frequency doubled in a V-cavity geometry to generate a rich variety of high-power spatially structured beams.

Tunable type II intracavity difference frequency generation at 5.4 μm in a two chip vertical external cavity surface emitting laser.

We report on the generation and experimental demonstration of intracavity type II difference frequency generation in a two chip InGaAs/GaAs vertical external cavity surface emitting laser. The presented two chip cavity provides two orthogonally polarized, independently tunable, high-intensity lasing modes with emissions around 970 and 1170 nm. A silver thiogallate nonlinear crystal is inserted in the common collinear folded region of the cavity to generate output in the mid-IR spectral band.

Tunable type II intracavity sum-frequency generation in a two chip collinear vertical external cavity surface emitting laser.

We report on the generation and experimental demonstration of intracavity type II sum-frequency generation (SFG) in a two chip InGaAs/GaAs vertical external cavity surface emitting laser cavity. The demonstrated two-chip cavity generates two orthogonally polarized, independently tunable, high-intensity intracavity lasing modes at different colors. Using a lithium triborate nonlinear crystal in the common collinear folded cavity region, high output power in the blue-green band is generated.

Effect of modular diffraction gratings on absorption in P3HT:PCBM layers.

Various gratings with 700 nm feature spacings are patterned on the reverse side of organic solar cell active layers to increase the path length and constrain light to the cell through total internal reflection. The absorption enhancement is studied for 15, 40, and 120 nm active layers. We were able to confine 9% of the incident light over the wavelength range of 400-650 nm, with thinner gratings having a greater enhancement potential.

Room temperature continuous wave milliwatt terahertz source.

We present a continuous wave terahertz source based on intracavity difference frequency generation within a dual color vertical external cavity surface emitting laser. Using a nonlinear crystal with a surface emitting phase matching scheme allows for high conversion efficiencies. Due to the tunability of the dual mode spacing, the entire spectral range of the terahertz gap can be covered.

Gain coupling of class A semiconductor lasers.

We report on the development of a gain-coupled class A semiconductor laser for dual-wavelength generation via optical switching. A vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) structure is used, because it provides a flexible platform for high-power, high-brightness output in the near-IR and visible ranges. For the first time (to our knowledge), two VECSEL cavities sharing a common gain region are studied.

Continuous-wave single-frequency 295 nm laser source by a frequency-quadrupled optically pumped semiconductor laser.

Up to 136 mW of cw single-frequency output at 295 nm was obtained from a frequency-quadrupled optically pumped semiconductor laser. The highly strained InGaAs quantum-well semiconductor laser operates at 1178 nm in a single frequency. The single-frequency intracavity-doubled 589 nm output is further converted to 295 nm in an external resonator using beta-BaB(2)O(4).

Continuous-wave all-solid-state 244 nm deep-ultraviolet laser source by fourth-harmonic generation of an optically pumped semiconductor laser using CsLiB6O10 in an external resonator.

We report an all-solid-state laser system that generates over 200 mW cw at 244 nm. An optically pumped semiconductor laser is internally frequency doubled to 488 nm. The 488 nm output is coupled to an external resonator, where it is converted to 244 nm using a CsLiB(6)O(10) (CLBO) crystal.

Multichip vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers: a coherent power scaling scheme.

We propose an efficient coherent power scaling scheme, the multichip vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL), in which the waste heat generated in the active region is distributed on multi-VECSEL chips such that the pump level at the thermal rollover is significantly increased. The advantages of this laser are discussed, and the development and demonstration of a two-chip VECSEL operating around 970 nm with over 19 W of output power is presented.

Closed-loop design of a semiconductor laser.

We provide what we believe is the first closed-loop prediction of a semiconductor laser performance using fully microscopic many-body models for the spontaneous emission, gain, and carrier recombination losses due to Auger processes without having to resort to phenomenological adjustable fit parameters.

Intersection of nonidentical optical waveguides based on photonic crystals.

An intersection based on photonic crystal coupled resonator optical waveguides is proposed and analyzed. The two waveguides are designed to have different transmission bands without overlap, which enables light in the two corresponding bands to propagate through the intersection with no cross talk and with excellent transmission. The MIT Photonic-Bands code is used to calculate the band structures of photonic crystal waveguides.

Electro-optic modulation in hybrid solgel doped with Disperse Red chromophore.

An electro-optically active hybrid solgel doped with Disperse Red 13 has been developed by use of a simple solvent-assisted method. It permits a high loading concentration and has low optical loss at 1550 nm. A channel waveguide amplitude modulator has been fabricated by use of active and passive hybrid solgel materials.

Electro-optic properties of hybrid solgel doped with a nonlinear chromophore with large hyperpolarizability.

We report the electro-optic properties of hybrid silica solgel doped with a nonlinear chromophore with large hyperpolarizability. Electro-optic coefficients of higher than 30 pm/V have been obtained. Moreover, the electro-optic coefficients have good temporal stability and show promise for the development of high-speed electro-optic devices.

Tapered fiber bundles for combining high-power diode lasers.

Tapered fiber bundles are often used to combine the output power of several semiconductor lasers into a multimode optical fiber for the purpose of pumping fiber lasers and amplifiers. It is generally recognized that the brightness of such combiners does not exceed the brightness of the individual input fibers. We report that the brightness of the tapered fibers (and fiber bundles) depends on both the taper ratio and the mode-filling properties of the beams launched into the individual fibers.

Analysis of high-reflectivity metal-dielectric mirrors for edge-emitting lasers.

A metal-dielectric mirror is shown as a simple solution for high-reflectivity coatings on cleaved-facet edge-emitting lasers, as well as a means to provide wavelength stabilization and spectral filtering. We show, through the use of a simple SiO2/Ti/Au coating, reflectivities better than 90% and a 25% reduction in the 30-dB linewidth of the output spectrum. Wavelength filtering and varying reflectivities are described as the result of multiple reflections and a coupled-cavity effect.