Abstract
Reconfigurable photonic technology combining multiple functionalities in a single gain-chip is a crucial light-based platform for enabling hybrid applications. Here, we report on achieving a widely tunable and reconfigurable blue laser source using a single-port gain medium based on an InGaN/GaN superluminescent diode (SLD). As compared to tunable laser-diode emitters based solely on stimulated emission from a laser diode used as the gain medium, our amplified spontaneous emission system is capable of fast switching between the stimulated and amplified spontaneous emission regimes for on-demand use of time-incoherent, or time-coherent light with single- or dual-wavelengths. The single- and dual-wavelength laser tunability is designed using various external cavity (EC) configurations for a continuous selection and smooth transition of the emission wavelength from 436 nm to 443 nm. Moreover, the InGaN SLD can amplify the optical power within the EC configuration by 6.5 dB. Thus, the prototype system opens up a viable route for designing reconfigurable light sources based on a single gain chip, and promises disruptive innovation for medical instrumentation, optical sensing technology, and optical communication.
Highlights
Reconfigurable photonics offering multiple and simultaneous functions are attractive platforms for innovative optical technologies [1], [2]
As compared to tunable laser-diode emitters based solely on stimulated emission from a laser diode used as the gain medium, our amplified spontaneous emission system is capable of fast switching between the stimulated and amplified spontaneous emission regimes for on-demand use of time-incoherent, or time-coherent light with single- or dual-wavelengths
We further prove that the single-port superluminescent diode (SLD) can serve as an amplification medium for the feedback signal provided within the external cavity (EC)
Summary
Reconfigurable photonics offering multiple and simultaneous functions are attractive platforms for innovative optical technologies [1], [2]. These interests have been inspired because the SLD is emitting light in the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) regime, showing droop-free performance, low temporal coherence, high power density, and low etendue [16], [24], [26]–[30] These unique optical properties, when implemented in an EC configuration, can offer a reconfigurable single-chip light source capable of emitting both time-incoherent light from the SLD and timecoherent laser light from the EC-SLD, appealing to a wide range of applications, including gas and liquid sensing [31], swept source optical coherence tomography [32], and coherence-convertible light source [33]. The designed reconfigurable blue-emitting light source would find a myriad of important applications, including free-space and underwater optical communication [34], hybrid coherent-incoherent light-based medical diagnosis [35], and terahertz-wave beat signal generation by dual wavelength photo-mixing [36], and advancing the field of reconfigurable laser photonics
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