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High-power, low-noise 1.5-um slab-coupled optical waveguide (SCOW) emitters: physics, devices, and applications

Summary

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 (α i ~ 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
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Summary

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...

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Coherent combining of a 4 kW, eight-element fiber amplifier array

Published in:
Opt. Lett., vol. 36, No. 14, 15 July 2011, pp. 2686-2688.

Summary

Commercial 0:5kW Yb-doped fiber amplifiers have been characterized and found to be suitable for coherent beam combining. Eight such fiber amplifiers have been coherently combined in a tiled-aperture configuration with 78% combining efficiency and total output power of 4kW. The power-in-the-bucket vertical beam quality of the combined output is 1.25 times diffraction limited at full power. The beam-combining performance is independent of output power.
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Summary

Commercial 0:5kW Yb-doped fiber amplifiers have been characterized and found to be suitable for coherent beam combining. Eight such fiber amplifiers have been coherently combined in a tiled-aperture configuration with 78% combining efficiency and total output power of 4kW. The power-in-the-bucket vertical beam quality of the combined output is 1.25...

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Cryogenic Yb3+ -doped materials for pulsed solid-state laser applications

Published in:
Opt. Mat. Expr., Vol. 1, No. 3, 1 July 2011, pp. 434-450.

Summary

We review recent progress in pulsed lasers using cryogenically-cooled Yb3+ -doped gain media, with an emphasis on high average power. Recent measurements of thermo-optic properties for various host material at both room and cryogenic temperature are presented, including themral conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion and refractive index. Host materials reviewed include Y2O3, Lu2O3, Sc2O3, YLF, YSO, GSAG, and YVO4. We report on performance of several cryogenic Yb lasers operating at 5-kHz pulse repetition frequency (PRF) a Q-switched Yb:YAG laser is shwon to operate at 114-W average power, with 16-ns pulse duration. A chirped pulse amplifier achieves 115-W output using a composite Yb:YAG/Yb:GSAG amplifier, with pulses that compress to 1.6 ps. Finally, a high-average-power femtosecond laser based on Yb:YLF is discussed, with results for a 10-W regenerative amplifier at 10-kHZ PRF.
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Summary

We review recent progress in pulsed lasers using cryogenically-cooled Yb3+ -doped gain media, with an emphasis on high average power. Recent measurements of thermo-optic properties for various host material at both room and cryogenic temperature are presented, including themral conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion and refractive index. Host materials reviewed...

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Angle-and polarization-dependent collective excitation of plasmonic nanoarrays for surface enhanced infrared spectroscopy

Summary

Our recent work has showed that diffractively coupled nanoplasmonic arrays for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy can enhance the Amide I protein vibrational stretch by up to 105 times as compared to plain substrates. In this work we consider computationally the impact of a microscope objective illumination cone on array performance. We derive an approach for computing angular- and spatially-averaged reflectance for various numerical aperture (NA) objectives. We then use this approach to show that arrays that are perfectly optimized for normal incidence undergo significant response degradation even at modest NAs, whereas arrays that are slightly detuned from the perfect grating condition at normal incidence irradiation exhibit only a slight drop in performance when analyzed with a microscope objective. Our simulation results are in good agreement with microscope measurements of experimentally optimized periodic nanoplasmonic arrays.
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Summary

Our recent work has showed that diffractively coupled nanoplasmonic arrays for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy can enhance the Amide I protein vibrational stretch by up to 105 times as compared to plain substrates. In this work we consider computationally the impact of a microscope objective illumination cone on array...

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Uniformity study of wafer-scale InP-to-silicon hybrid integration

Published in:
Appl. Phys. A, Mat. Sci. & Process., Vol. 103, No. 1, April 2011, pp. 213-218.

Summary

In this paper we study the uniformity of up to 150 mm in diameter wafer-scale III-V epitaxial transfer to the Si-on-insulator substrate through the O2 plasma-enhanced low-temperature (300°C) direct wafer bonding. Void-free bonding is demonstrated by the scanning acoustic microscopy with sub-um resolution. The photoluminescence (PL) map shows less than 1 nm change in average peak wavelength, and even improved peak intensity (4% better) and full width at half maximum (41% better) after 150 mm in diameter epitaxial transfer. Small and uniformly distributed residual strain in all sizes of bonding, which is measured by high-resolution X-ray diffraction Omega- 2Theta mapping, and employment of a two-period InP-InGaAsP superlattice at the bonding interface contributes to the improvement of PL response. Preservation of multiple quantum-well integrity is also verified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.
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Summary

In this paper we study the uniformity of up to 150 mm in diameter wafer-scale III-V epitaxial transfer to the Si-on-insulator substrate through the O2 plasma-enhanced low-temperature (300°C) direct wafer bonding. Void-free bonding is demonstrated by the scanning acoustic microscopy with sub-um resolution. The photoluminescence (PL) map shows less than...

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Measurement of the absolute Raman scattering cross sections of sulfur and the standoff Raman detection of a 6-mm-thick sulfur specimen at 1500m

Published in:
J. Raman Spectr., Vol. 42, No. 3, March 2011, pp. 461-464.

Summary

The absolute Raman scattering cross sections (σRS) for the 471, 217, and 153 cm−1 modes of sulfur were measured as 6.0 ± 1.2 × 10−27, 7.7 ± 1.6 × 10−27, and 1.2 ± 0.24 × 10−26 cm2 at 815, 799, and 794 nm, respectively, using a 785-nm pump laser. The corresponding values of σRS at 1120, 1089, and 1081 nm were determined to be 1.5 ± 0.3 × 10−27, 1.2 ± 0.24 × 10−27, and 1.2 ± 0.24 × 10−27 cm2 using a 1064-nm laser. A temperature-controlled, small-cavity (2.125 mm diameter) blackbody source was used to calibrate the signal output of the Raman spectrometers for these measurements. Standoff Raman detection of a 6-mm-thick sulfur specimen located at 1500 m from the pump laser and the Raman spectrometer was made using a 1.4-W, CW, 785-nm pump laser.
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Summary

The absolute Raman scattering cross sections (σRS) for the 471, 217, and 153 cm−1 modes of sulfur were measured as 6.0 ± 1.2 × 10−27, 7.7 ± 1.6 × 10−27, and 1.2 ± 0.24 × 10−26 cm2 at 815, 799, and 794 nm, respectively, using a 785-nm pump laser. The...

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Advanced packaging of high-power slab-coupled optical waveguide laser and amplifier arrays for coherent beam combining

Summary

Individually addressable GaAs-based 9XX-nm Slab-Coupled Optical Waveguide (SCOW) laser and amplifier arrays have been demonstrated in a modular 2-D stacked architecture. Approximately 20 W of coherently-combined power was obtained from two optically stacked amplifier modules.
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Summary

Individually addressable GaAs-based 9XX-nm Slab-Coupled Optical Waveguide (SCOW) laser and amplifier arrays have been demonstrated in a modular 2-D stacked architecture. Approximately 20 W of coherently-combined power was obtained from two optically stacked amplifier modules.

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Beam combining of quantum cascade laser arrays

Published in:
Opt. Express, Vol. 17, No. 18, 31 August 2009, pp. 16216-16224.

Summary

Wavelength beam combining was used to co-propagate beams from 28 elements in an array of distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers (DFB-QCLs). The beam-quality product of the array, defined as the product of near-field spot size and far-field divergence for the entire array, was improved by a factor of 21 by using wavelength beam combining. To demonstrate the applicability of wavelength beam combined DFB-QCL arrays for remote sensing, we obtained the absorption spectrum of isopropanol at a distance of 6 m from the laser array.
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Summary

Wavelength beam combining was used to co-propagate beams from 28 elements in an array of distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers (DFB-QCLs). The beam-quality product of the array, defined as the product of near-field spot size and far-field divergence for the entire array, was improved by a factor of 21 by using...

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Experimental demonstration of remote optical detection of trace explosives.

Published in:
SPIE Vol. 6954, Chemical, Biologica, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing IX, 18-20 March 2008, 695407.

Summary

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has developed a concept that could enable remote (10s of meters) detection of trace explosives' residues via a field-portable laser system. The technique relies upon laser-induced photodissociation of nitro-bearing explosives into vibrationally excited nitric oxide (NO) fragments. Subsequent optical probing of the first vibrationally excited state at 236 nm yields narrowband fluorescence at the shorter wavelength of 226 nm. With proper optical filtering, these photons provide a highly sensitive explosives signature that is not susceptible to interference from traditional optical clutter sources (e.g., red-shifted fluorescence). Quantitative measurements of trace residues of TNT have been performed demonstrating this technique using a breadboard system, which relies upon a pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based laser. Based on these results, performance projections for a fieldable system are made.
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Summary

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has developed a concept that could enable remote (10s of meters) detection of trace explosives' residues via a field-portable laser system. The technique relies upon laser-induced photodissociation of nitro-bearing explosives into vibrationally excited nitric oxide (NO) fragments. Subsequent optical probing of the first vibrationally excited state at...

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Advanced trigger development

Published in:
Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1, November 2007, pp. 29-62.

Summary

The deadliest form of a biological attack is aerosolized agents dispersed into the atmosphere. Early detection of aerosolized biological agents is important for defense against these agents. Because of the wide range of possible attack scenarios and attack responses, there is also a wide range of detector requirements. This article focuses on real-time, single-particle, optically based bio-agent trigger detectors--the first responder to an aerosol attack--and how to engineer these detectors to achieve optimal detection performance.
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Summary

The deadliest form of a biological attack is aerosolized agents dispersed into the atmosphere. Early detection of aerosolized biological agents is important for defense against these agents. Because of the wide range of possible attack scenarios and attack responses, there is also a wide range of detector requirements. This article...

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