The oscillation characteristics of a 40 GHz, 1-3 ps regeneratively and harmonically mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser have been investigated in detail with respect to stability, linewidth, and mode hopping. We show that because the Q value of the microwave filter in the feedback loop is limited to around 1000, which is almost the same as that in a 10 GHz laser, the cavity length should not be greatly increased as this would result in as much as a fourfold increase in the number of longitudinal beat signals. We undertook a detailed stability analysis by using three cavity lengths, 60, 80, and 230 m. The 80 m long cavity greatly improved the long-term stability of the laser because the supermode noise was suppressed and there were not too many longitudinal modes. We measured the linewidth of the longitudinal mode of the laser using a heterodyne method, and it was less than 1 kHz. We also point out that there is a longitudinal mode hopping effect with time that is induced by very small changes in temperature.

Timing noise of 160 GHz optical pulses has been evaluated over nine decades of Fourier frequency using the optoelectronic harmonic mixing technique. For down-converting the 160 GHz pulse intensity into a low-frequency IF signal, the fourth order modulation sidebands produced by a Mach-Zehnder intensity modulator have been employed. Phase noise power spectral density and timing jitter for 155.552-GHz optical time-division multiplexed pulses and 160.640-GHz passively mode-locked pulses are measured using the time domain demodulation and time interval analysis techniques, respectively.

Lasers have been established as a unique nanoprocessing tool due to its intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) fabrication capability and the excellent compatibility to various functional materials. Here we report two methods that have been proved particularly promising for tailoring 3D photonic crystals (PhCs): pinpoint writing via two-photon photopolymerization and multibeam interferential patterning. In the two-photon fabrication, a finely quantified pixel writing scheme and a method of pre-compensation to the shrinkage induced by polymerization enable high-reproducibility and high-fidelity prototyping; well-defined diamond-lattice PhCs prove the arbitrary 3D processing capability of the two-photon technology. In the interference patterning method, we proposed and utilized a two-step exposure approach, which not only increases the number of achievable lattice types, but also expands the freedom in tuning lattice constant.

Free-standing 2D slab photonic band-edge lasers based on square lattice and triangular lattice are realized by optical pumping at room-temperature. Both in-plane-emission and surface-emission photonic band-edge lasers are observed and compared. Analyses on optical loss mechanisms for finite-size photonic band-edge lasers are also discussed.

We have demonstrated low-threshold two-dimensional photonic crystal lasers with self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots. Coupled cavity designs of whispering gallery modes are defined in square lattice photonic crystal slabs. Our lasers showed a small 120 µW input pumping power threshold. Actual absorption power is evaluated to be less than 20 µW. Our lasers show high spontaneous emission coupling (β) factors0.1. The mode volumes are expected to be 0.7-1.2 times cubed wavelength by our modelling. Based on threshold analysis, 80 QDs are the effective number of QDs defined as the number of QDs needed to make PC cavities transparent if they are on maximum optical field points. Using the same analysis we found that single quantum dot lasing is likely to occur both by proper alignment of the single quantum dot relative to geometries of photonic crystals and by using sharp QD emission lines in high-Q localized modes.

We propose a novel optical signal processing using an optically pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with an external light input. The mode transition between a fundamental and a 1st-high-order transverse mode is induced by an external light injection. Since a single mode fiber (SMF) spatially selects a fundamental transverse mode as an output signal, we are able to realize a nonlinear transfer function, which will be useful in future photonic networks. The mode transition characteristic of a 1.55 µm optically pumped two-mode VCSEL has been simulated by using a two-mode rate equation, which includes the effects of spatial hole burning and spectral hole burning as gain saturation coefficients. We focus on the detuning effect in the injection locking. When the wavelength of an input light with a fundamental mode is slightly longer than that of a VCSEL operating in a 1st-high-order transverse mode, the transverse mode of the VCSEL is switched to a fundamental mode at a critical input power level. This gives us an ideal transfer function for 2R (reamplification and reshaping) regeneration. Also, the proposed scheme may enable polarization insensitive signal processing, which is a unique feature in surface emitting lasers.

We discuss photonic crystals (PhCs) with advanced micro/nano-structres which are semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for the purpose of realizing novel classes of PhC devices in future photonic network system. After brief introduction on advantages to implement QDs and MEMS with PhCs, we discuss optical characterization of PhC microcavity containing self-assembled InAs QDs. Modification of emission spectrum of a QD ensemble due to the resonant cavity modes is demonstrated. We also point out the feasibility of low-threshold PhC lasers with QD active media in numerical analysis. A very low threshold current of 10 µA is numerically obtained for lasing action in the multi dimensional distributed feedback mode by using realistic material parameters. Then, the basic concept for MEMS-controlled PhC slab devices is described. We show numerical results that demonstrate some of interesting functions such as the intensity modulation and the tuning of resonant frequency of cavity mode. Finally, a preliminary experiment of MEMS-based switching operation in a PhC line-defect waveguide is demonstrated.

By means of the three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method, we have investigated in detail the optical properties of a two-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) surface-emitting laser having a square-lattice structure. The 3D-FDTD calculation is carried out for the finite size PC slab structure. The device is based on band-edge resonance, and plural band edges are present at the corresponding band edge point. For these band edges, we calculate the mode profile in the PC slab, far field pattern (FFP) and polarization mode of the surface-emitted component, and photon lifetime. FFPs are shown to be influenced by the finiteness of the structure. Quality (Q) factor, which is a dimensionless quantity representing photon lifetime, is introduced. The out-plane radiation loss in the direction normal to the PC plane greatly influences the total Q factor of resonant mode and is closely related with the band structure. As a result, Q factors clearly differ among these band edges. These results suggest that these band edges include resonant modes that are easy to lase and resonant modes that are difficult to lase.

We have designed, fabricated and characterized efficient optical resonators and low-threshold lasers based on planar photonic crystal concept. Lasers with InGaAsP quantum well active material emitting at 1550 nm were optically pumped, and room temperature lasing was observed at threshold powers below 220 µW. Porous high quality factor cavity that we have developed confines light in the air region and therefore our lasers are ideally suited for investigation of interaction between light and matter on a nanoscale level. We have demonstrated the operation of photonic crystal lasers in different ambient organic solutions, and we have showed that planar photonic crystal lasers can be used to perform spectroscopic tests on femtoliter volumes of analyte.

A two-dimensional laser beam profiler has been developed that can measure the intensity distribution on a sample surface of a single-shot of an excimer-laser light beam from not only the macroscopic viewpoint, but also the microscopic viewpoint, which is important to excimer-laser triggered lateral large-grain growth of Si. A resolution as fine as 0.4 µm was obtained with a field of view of as large as 30 µm 30 µm. The effects of homogenizers, phase-shifters, and their combination on beam profiles were quantitatively investigated by using this apparatus. The relationship between the microscopic beam profile and the surface morphology of laterally grown grains was also examined.

We propose a frequency stabilization system for laser diodes (LDs), in which the electrical feedback loop response can be determined using an on-line genetic algorithm (GA) so as to attain lower LD frequency noise power within the specific Fourier frequency range of interest. At the initial stage of the stabilization, the feedback loop response has been controlled through GA, manipulating the proportional gain, integration time, and derivative time of conventional analog PID controller. Individuals having 12-bit chromosomes encoded by combinations of PID parameters have converged evolutionarily toward an optimal solution providing a suitable feedback loop response. A fitness function has been calculated for each individual in real time based on the power spectral density (PSD) of the frequency noise. The performance of this system has been tested by stabilizing a 50 mW visible LD. Long-term (τ > 0.01 s) frequency stability and its repeatability have been improved.

This very useful optical sampling system uses a passively mode-locked fiber laser as an optical sampling pulse source and is based on sum-frequency generation. The optical pulse had a sufficiently short pulse width, and its peak power was very high. In addition, it had a very low timing jitter. We could observe optical signals that were jitter-free in terms of single scanning. The sum-frequency generation conversion efficiency was 1.0 10-4 W-1, and the temporal resolution was 700 fs, when we used a 5-mm-thick KTP crystal. A 320-Gbit/s optical signal could be clearly observed. We have also developed a polarization-insensitive optical sampling system with a two-path configuration based on sum-frequency generation using the type-II phase matching condition in a KTP crystal. The polarization dependency was less than 3.5% (0.15 dB) in the wavelength range from 1520 to 1620 nm.

We present theoretical and experimental results for a microwave photonic oscillator (MPO) that provides a microwave signal and a modulated optical wave simultaneously. Among the different techniques currently in use for optically generating a microwave signal, we have chosen a ring configuration based on an electro-optical Mach-Zehnder modulator (EOM) driven by a 1.55 µm DFB laser diode. An accurate modelling of EOM and the contributions from all noise sources in the oscillation loop allows us to predict performances of our designated MPO in a very good agreement with the measured oscillation power (up to 22 dBm, depending on the DC bias voltage) and phase noise spectral density (-130 dBc/Hz @ 10 kHz away from the carrier). We propose this hybrid microwave photonic source to be used as a local oscillator for a coherent laser radar operating at 1550 nm. A good compromise between a very high tunability range (1-8 GHz) and a high spectral purity (> -120 dBc/Hz @ 10 kHz) is obtained through a dual-loop configuration for the MPO.

A new technique for optical generation of high-purity millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signals--namely, by synthesizing the outputs from cascadingly phase-locked multiple semiconductor lasers--was developed. Firstly, a high-spectral-purity mm-wave signal was optically generated by heterodyning the outputs from two phase-locked external-cavity semiconductor lasers. The beat signal was detected by a p-i-n photodiode whose output was directly coupled to a coax-waveguide converter followed by a W-band harmonic mixer. By constructing an optical phase-locked loop (OPLL), a high-spectral-purity mm-wave signal with an electrical power of 2.3 µW was successfully generated at 110 GHz with an rms phase fluctuation of 57 mrad. Secondly, the frequency of the mm-wave signal was extended by use of three cascadingly phase-locked semiconductor lasers. This technique uses a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) to generate four-wave-mixing (FWM) signals as well as to amplify the input signals. When the three lasers were appropriately tuned, two pairs of FWM signals were nearly degenerated. By phase-locking the offset frequency in one of the nearly degenerated pairs, the frequency separations among the three lasers were kept at a ratio of 1:2. Thus, we successfully generated high-purity millimeter-wave optical-beat signals at frequencies at 330.566 GHz with an rms phase fluctuation of 0.38 rad. A detailed analysis of the phase fluctuations was carried out on the basis of measured power spectral densities. The possibility of extending the mm-wave frequency up to 1 THz by using four cascadingly phase-locked lasers was also discussed.

The dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technique is very attractive for effectively increasing the channel capability, even for access networks. Some DWDM radio-on-fiber (ROF) systems have been studied recently. In those systems, fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) or arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) were used to demultiplex DWDM ROF signals. In this report, an alternative channel-selection scheme of DWDM millimeter-wave-band ROF signals by optical heterodyne detection with dual-mode local light is newly proposed. Error-free demultiplexing and transmission over a 25-km-long SMF of the DWDM signal, which consists of two 60-GHz-band, 155-Mb/s-DPSK ROF signals, are demonstrated.

The authors have been interested in a Scanning Laser Microscope (SLM) and applied it to studies of contact phenomena. In particular, a digital SLM is being currently used, and confirmed to be a successful tool for investigating the contact phenomena. In this paper, the theory and mechanism of a digital SLM are briefly explained, and some actual data obtained with the digital SLM are presented for demonstrating its usefulness for studies of contact phenomena.

Self-pulsation of Nd3+-doped fluoride fiber laser is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated using a Tm3+-doped fluoride fiber pumped at 808 nm as a saturable absorber. Self-pulsation at finite pump power predicted by linear stability analysis is confirmed through experiments, achieving a pulse width and peak power of 4.5µs and 1.5mW when the Nd3+-doped fiber was pumped at 230mW.

This paper presents an innovative 155Mb/s burst-mode laser transmitter chip, which was designed and successfully demonstrated, and contains several new subsystems: a digitally programmed current source, programmable up to 120mA with a resolution of 0.1mA, a fast but accurate intermittent optical level monitoring circuit, and a digital Automatic Power Control (APC) algorithm. This generic and intelligent chip was developed in a standard digital 0.35µm CMOS process. Extensive testing showed a high yield and algorithm stability, as well as excellent performance. During initialization, when the transmitter is connected to the Passive Optical Network (PON) for the first time, maximum three Laser Control Fields (LCF) are needed, with a length of 17bytes (0.88microsecond at 155Mb/s), to stabilize the laser output power. In this short time, the chip can regulate the launched optical output power of any FSAN (Full Service Access Network) compliant laser diode to the required level, even in the extreme circumstances caused by outdoor operation or by battery backup operation during power outages. Other tests show that the chip can further stabilize and track this launched optical power with a tolerance lower than 1dB over a wide temperature range, during the burst mode data transmission. The APC algorithm intermittently adjusts the optical power to be transmitted in a digital way, starting from loosely specified but safe preset values, to the required stable logic "1" and "0" level. No laborious calibration of the laser characteristic curve and storage of the calibration values in lookup tables are needed, nor any off-chip adjustable component. The power consumption is significantly reduced by disabling inactive circuitry and by gating the digital high-speed clock. Although this laser transmitter was developed for FSAN PON applications, which are standardized at a speed of 155Mb/s upstream, the design concept is quite generic and can be applied for developing a wide range of burst mode laser transmitters, such as required for Gigabit PON systems or other TDMA networks.

The generation of high repetition-rate optical pulse train using a passively mode-locked figure-8 fiber ring laser is presented. The laser employs a novel configuration incorporating a superstructure fiber Bragg grating. Pulse train with repetition rates up to 100GHz is possible and transform-limited pulses with pulsewidth below 1ps can be achieved with chirp compensation. The output pulses can further be reduced to 83fs with an external pulse compressor.

We fabricated 1.3µm AlGaInAs inner-stripe laser diodes (LDs), employing a GaInAsP waveguide layer and an n-InP current blocking layer. We compared the effects of the thickness of n-InP current blocking layer. A blocking layer with 500nm thick restricts the leakage current significantly. The inner-stripe LD was compared with the conventional ridge LD. I-L characteristics of both types of LDs were measured. Threshold currents of the inner-stripe LD and the ridge LD were 8.5 and 10.6mA, respectively. A threshold current of the inner-stripe LD is smaller than that of ridge LD. And the resistance of the inner-stripe LD was a few ohms lower than that of the ridge LD. Output power of 88mW was obtained at 200mA with 300µ m-long cavity. This was twice the power of a conventional ridge laser. The characteristic temperature of the inner-stripe LD was obtained 76 K from 20 to 85. We obtained a good linearity up to 100mA at 85. Therefore the inner-stripe LD has an advantage of high power devices.