Hole Burning Effect Research Articles

Experimental Investigation of Gain Offset Behavior of Feedforward-Controlled WDM AGC EDFA Under Various Dynamic Wavelength Allocations

Realizing dynamics in the optical layer is becoming more important for efficient optical communication networks such as protection switching in the optical domain or reconfiguring the optical layer to meet traffic fluctuations. This paper experimentally investigates gain offset changes under dynamic optical switching using feedforward-controlled wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) automatic gain control erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). Realistic optical switching scenarios are emulated by resolving dynamic routing and wavelength assignment problems. The experimental results demonstrate that channel intensity changes with optical switching and that the intensity changes accumulate as the number of cascaded EDFAs increases. Considering a gain model in wavelength assignment can successfully reduce the channel intensity changes by up to 0.7 dB after five cascaded EDFAs. Effects of gain spectral hole burning on the intensity changes are also discussed.

Wavelength-switchable fiber laser based on few-mode fiber filter with core-offset structure

We propose a wavelength-switchable erbium-doped fiber ring laser based on the few-mode fiber filter with core-offset structure. The filter is constructed by splicing a section of few-mode fiber with two segments of single mode fiber. Meanwhile, the excited modes are effectively selected by controlling the core-offset splicing carefully. The novel filter is based on the interference between fundamental mode and LP11 mode. The single-, dual-, triple- and quad-wavelength fiber laser is accomplished by adjusting the states of polarization controller at room temperature. The principle of operation is mainly based on the saturated spectral hole-burning effect and the balance between the gain and loss in the cavity.

Switchable quadruple-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber laser based on a chirped fiber grating and polarization-maintaining fiber

A switchable quadruple-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber laser based on two Sagnac loops with a chirped fiber grating and polarization-maintaining fiber is proposed and demonstrated experimentally at room temperature. The two loops act as comb filters to excite multi-wavelength output. On the basis of the polarization hole burning effect, the laser can switch flexibly to output ten different modes from single-wavelength to quadruple-wavelength. All of the lasing lines with narrow linewidth have the optical signal-to-noise ratio of more than 35dB. The laser with good power uniformity shows better stability with respect to the wavelength and peak power.

Dynamical properties of total intensity fluctuation spectrum in two-mode Nd:YVO4 microchip laser**Project supported by the Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project, China (Grant No. YETP0086), the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Programme, China (Grant No. 2012Z02166), and the Special-funded Programme on National Key Scientific Instruments and Equipment Development of China (Grant No. 2011YQ04013603).

We investigate the total intensity fluctuation spectrum of the two-longitudinal- mode Nd:YVO4 microchip laser (ML). We find that low-frequency relaxation oscillation (RO) peaks still appear in the total intensity fluctuation spectrum, which is different from a previous research result that the low-frequency RO peaks exist in the spectrum of the individual mode but compensate for each other totally in the total intensity fluctuation spectrum. Taking the spatial hole-burning effect into account, one and two-mode rate equations for Nd:YVO4 ML laser are established and studied. Based on the theoretical model, we find that when the gains and losses for two longitudinal models are different, a low-frequency RO peak will appear in the total intensity fluctuation spectrum, while when they share the same gain and loss, the total spectrum will behave like that of a single mode laser. Theoretical simulation results coincide with experimental results very well.

Reorientation Dynamics of Chromophores in Photosensitive Polymers by Means of Coarse-Grained Modeling.

We study the photoisomerization of azobenzene chromophores embedded into a polymer matrix by using coarse-grained simulations. Two types of beads are considered: t- and c-beads, which are rich in trans and cis isomers, respectively. Simulations combine deterministic (molecular dynamics) and stochastic (random-type switching) parts. The ratio between the characteristic times for photoinduced reorientation and for orientation relaxation is tuned to be of the order found in experiments. The essential features of the phenomenon: 1) the existence of a stationary state, and 2) anisotropic distribution of the orientations of t-beads (orientation hole-burning effect), are reproduced. We study population dynamics of c-beads and the strength of the orientation hole burning, depending on the illumination wavelength and its intensity. The form of the reorientation potential of the mean force acting on the t-beads is analyzed and its use is validated.

Polarization and modal dynamics of multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers subject to optical feedback and current modulation

Dynamics of a multi-transverse mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser is studied experimentally in a wide parameter range of optical feedback and current modulation. While the orthogonal polarizations manifest anticorrelated feedback dynamics, dynamics of different transverse modes with orthogonal polarizations do not exhibit a clear correlation property. This may be attributed to spatial hole burning effect. As the current modulation becomes strong, both polarization and modal dynamics are modulation dominated. When the modulation frequency is close to the external cavity resonance frequency or its harmonics, feedback dynamics is enhanced. For the modulation frequency close to half integer multiples of the external cavity resonance frequency, feedback feature can be suppressed. The minimum modulation amplitude for suppressing feedback dynamics is measured for each polarization and one of the transverse modes in the polarization, and the results are discussed. Interplay of relaxation oscillation, optical feedback, and current modulation is observed and measured. Our results are compared to the theoretical predictions.

Steady-state ab initio laser theory for complex gain media.

We derive and test a generalization of the steady-state ab initio laser theory (SALT) to treat complex gain media. The generalized theory (C-SALT) is able to treat atomic and molecular gain media with diffusion and multiple lasing transitions, and semiconductor gain media in the free carrier approximation including fully the effect of Pauli blocking. The key assumption of the theory is stationarity of the level populations, which leads to coupled self-consistent equations for the populations and the lasing modes that fully include the effects of openness and non-linear spatial hole-burning. These equations can be solved efficiently for the steady-state lasing properties by a similar iteration procedure as in SALT, where a static gain medium with a single transition is assumed. The theory is tested by comparison to much less efficient finite difference time domain (FDTD) methods and excellent agreement is found. Using C-SALT to analyze the effects of varying gain diffusion constant we demonstrate a cross-over between the regime of strong spatial hole burning with multimode lasing to a regime of negligible spatial hole burning, leading to gain-clamping, and single mode lasing. The effect of spatially inhomogeneous pumping combined with diffusion is also studied and a relevant length scale for spatial inhomogeneity to persist under these conditions is determined. For the semiconductor gain model, we demonstrate the frequency shift due to Pauli blocking as the pumping strength changes.

Active mode-locking of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers with short gain recovery time.

We investigate the dynamics of actively modulated mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) using space- and time-domain simulations of coupled density matrix and Maxwell equations with resonant tunneling current taken into account. We show that it is possible to achieve active mode locking and stable generation of picosecond pulses in high performance QCLs with a vertical laser transition and a short gain recovery time by bias modulation of a short section of a monolithic Fabry-Perot cavity. In fact, active mode locking in QCLs with a short gain recovery time turns out to be more robust to the variation of parameters as compared to previously studied lasers with a long gain recovery time. We investigate the effects of spatial hole burning and phase locking on the laser output.

Single frequency Yb-doped fiber laser based on graphene loop mirror filter

We report a new method for obtaining a stable single-frequency Yb-doped fiber laser by introducing a graphene film into a fiber loop mirror combined with a simple linear cavity. The graphene film acts as a saturable absorber so as to form a dynamic absorbing grating in the 3 dB fiber loop. This grating is like a narrow-band filter for discriminating and selecting longitudinal modes. Moreover, we use a polarization controller in the linear resonator to suppress the spatial hole burning effect. The maximum output power is 16 mW at 1 064 nm with a pump power of 110 mW at 975 nm, the slope efficiency is 15%, and the SNR is about 60 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a 1 064 nm single-frequency laser based on a linear cavity with a graphene-loop mirror filter.

Effect of spatial hole burning on a dual-wavelength mode-locked laser based on compactly combined dual gain media

The effect of spatial hole burning (SHB) on dual-wavelength self-mode-locked lasers based on physically combined Nd:YVO4/Nd:LuVO4 and Nd:YVO4/Nd:KGW composite active medium is comparatively investigated. The length of the first Nd:YVO4 crystal is optimized to realize a highly compact and efficient TEM00-mode picosecond laser at 1.06 μm with optical conversion efficiency greater than 20%. When the SHB effect is enhanced by decreasing the separation between the input end mirror and the composite gain medium, it is experimentally found that not only the pulse duration monotonically decreases, but also the temporal behavior gradually displays a narrow-peak-on-a-pedestal shape for the Nd:YVO4/Nd:LuVO4 scheme, while the multipulse operation can be obtained for the Nd:YVO4/Nd:KGW configuration. These phenomena are further explored by numerically simulating mode-locked pulses from the experimentally measured optical spectra.

600-Hz linewidth short-linear-cavity fiber laser.

We proposed a short-linear-cavity (SLC) fiber laser based on a virtual-folded-ring (VFR) resonator and a fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot filter. Spatial hole burning effect was reduced by retarding the polarization state of the counter-propagating light waves utilizing the VFR structure. The photon lifetime of the resonator was extended due to the multi-reflection inside the FBG FP, which increased the intra-cavity power and relatively suppressed the contribution of phase diffusion from spontaneous emission. The relaxation oscillation frequency is around 160kHz due to the slow light effect. The linewidth of the SLC fiber laser was measured to be less than 600Hz.

Short monolithic dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode DBR phosphate fiber laser.

We propose and demonstrate a 5-cm-long monolithic dual-wavelength single-longitudinal mode distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) all-phosphate fiber laser. Strong UV-induced fiber Bragg gratings are directly written in highly Er/Yb codoped phosphate fiber. The separation between gratings is selected as 1cm to only excite two longitudinal modes in the DBR cavity. By exploiting the spatial hole burning effect and the polarization hole burning effect, stable narrow-linewidth dual-wavelength lasing emission with 38pm wavelength spacing and a total emitted power of 2.8mW is obtained from this DBR fiber laser. A microwave signal at 4.58GHz is generated by the heterodyne detection of the dual-wavelength laser.

High-pulse-energy passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser without spatial hole burning effect

We report on a high-pulse-energy 888 nm diode-pumped passively mode-locked TEM00 Nd:YVO4 oscillator without spatial hole burning (SHB) effect in active medium. At a pump power of 40 W, the oscillator produced pulse energy up to 270 nJ at a repetition rate of 50 MHz, corresponding to average power of 13.5W with 34% optical-to-optical efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest pulse energy obtained at the same pump power. The pulse duration produced varied from 16 to 59 ps. By varying the pump power, we observed a pulse duration ranging from 52 to 59 ps while the time-bandwidth product remained 0.88, and the factors that affect the pulse duration were also discussed. Meanwhile, a novel method of adjusting output coupling (OC) was introduced, which can simplify the structure of laser.

Hole burning and higher-order photon effects in attosecond light-atom interaction

We have performed calculations of attosecond laser-atom interactions for laser intensities where interesting two and three photon effects become relevant. In particular, we examine the case of "hole burning" in the initial orbital. Hole burning is present when the laser pulse duration is shorter than the classical radial period because the electron preferentially absorbs the photon near the nucleus. We also examine how 3 photon Raman process can lead to a time delay in the outgoing electron for the energy near one photon absorption. For excitation out of the hydrogen $2s$ state, an intensity of $2.2\times 10^{16}$ W/cm$^2$ leads to a 6 attosecond delay of the outgoing electron. We argue that this delay is due to the hole burning in the initial state.

Mode stability in photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers with large κ1DL

We study mode stability in photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) with large coupling-coefficient-length product κ1DL(>6). We observe that mode competition occurs at high current levels above threshold. Our combined experimental and theoretical study provides the first evidence of the mode competition originating from the high-order band-edge modes. The decreased threshold margin between these competing high-order modes and the main lasing mode with increasing cavity length as well as the spatial hole burning effect may deteriorate the single-mode stability. Our finding is essential for designing single-mode high-power PCSELs for which the strategy to suppress the high-order modes must be considered.

Effect of laser coherent superposition in multi-pass amplification process

Aming at the coherent superposition of laser pulse reflected from the cavity mirror in multi-pass amplification process, a physical model for describing the amplification of coherent superstition of the rising part and the falling part of the pulse in a gain medium is established. According to theoretical analysis, standing wave is formed by the coherent superposition of the rising part and falling part of the pulse. The inversion population density shows up the effect of hole-burning by the standing wave, and the gain and pulse shape are affected. Based on this physical model, three conditions, i.e., no superposition, coherent superposition, and incoherent superposition are compared. This study will provide the instructions for high power solid laser design.

Narrow-band erbium-doped fibre linear – ring laser

We have demonstrated a narrow-band linear – ring fibre laser with an output power of at a wavelength of and an emission bandwidth less than . The laser frequency is stabilised by an unpumped active fibre section and fibre Bragg grating. The fibre laser operates in a travelling wave mode, which allows the spatial hole burning effect to be avoided. At a certain pump power level, the laser switches from continuous mode to repetitive-pulse operation, corresponding to relaxation oscillations.

Room-temperature switchable triple-wavelength operation of an erbium-doped fiber laser

A switchable triple-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser employing a linear cavity incorporating a spatial mode beating filter was proposed and demonstrated. The filter formed by the incorporation of a section of multimode fiber into a single-mode fiber loop mirror was used as a comb to select lasing wavelengths. By using a polarization controller and spatial hole-burning effect, this laser could switch to output single wavelength, dual wavelength and triple wavelength in the C- plus L-bands at room temperature. The laser, with an optical signal-to-noise ratio of more than 45 dB and wavelength spacing of 2 nm, had good power uniformity and stability.

Single-Mode, High-Speed, and High-Power Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers at 850 nm for Short to Medium Reach (2 km) Optical Interconnects

The vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with high single-mode (narrow linewidth) output power are essential to minimize chromatic dispersion and to further improve the bit-rate distance product in a multimode fiber, which has a significant propagation loss (~3.5 dB/km) at 850 nm wavelength. Here, we demonstrate the detailed design considerations and fabrication of a single-mode, high-power, and high-speed VCSELs at the 850 nm wavelength with oxide-relief and Zn-diffusion apertures for the application of short (0.3 km) to medium reach (2 km) optical interconnects. By optimizing the relative geometric sizes between two such apertures in our demonstrated 850-nm VCSELs, we can not only attain high single-mode output power (~6.5 mW), but also with a reasonable threshold current (<; 2.0 mA). Furthermore, the spatial hole burning effect induced low-frequency roll off can also be minimized in our optimized structure to obtain a maximum data rate up to 26 Gbit/s. The record-high bit rate-distance products for OM4 MMF transmission under ON-OFF keying (14 Gbit/s × 2.0 km) modulation formats have been successfully demonstrated by the use of our VCSEL.

Slope efficiency over 30% single-frequency ytterbium-doped fiber laser based on Sagnac loop mirror filter

A high-slope-efficiency single-frequency (SF) ytterbium-doped fiber laser, based on a Sagnac loop mirror filter (LMF), was demonstrated. It combined a simple linear cavity with a Sagnac LMF that acted as a narrow-bandwidth filter to select the longitudinal modes. And we introduced a polarization controller to restrain the spatial hole burning effect in the linear cavity. The system could operate at a stable SF oscillating at 1064nm with the obtained maximum output power of 32mW. The slope efficiency was found to be primarily dependent on the reflectivity of the fiber Bragg grating. The slope efficiency of multi-longitudinal modes was higher than 45%, and the highest slope efficiency of the single longitudinal mode we achieved was 33.8%. The power stability and spectrum stability were <2% and <0.1%, respectively, and the signal-to-noise ratio measured was around 60dB.