Contents
2018
Volume: 6 Issue 11
16 Article(s)

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Research Articles
Fiber Optics
Revisiting the absorption and transmission properties of coupled open waveguides
Lei Chen, and Keng C. Chou
Open waveguides are widely used in modern photonic devices, such as microstructured fiber filters and sensors. Their absorption and transmission spectra are the most important properties in determining the overall performance of the photonic devices. The imaginary parts of their eigenvalues have been commonly used to calculate the absorption and consequently the transmission spectra. Here we show that this formulism is generally incorrect and not consistent with the simulation results obtained by the beam propagation method. We revisit the fundamental theory for the absorption of open waveguides and present a general formulism. We found that parity-time-symmetry transitions, which have been conventionally ignored, play a critical role in the properties of the coupled waveguide. The absorption and transmission are highly dependent on the physical length of the system. On the basis of our findings, optimization criteria for designing photonic sensors and filters are presented.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1003 (2018)
Integrated Optics
Broadband athermal waveguides and resonators for datacom and telecom applications
Liuqing He, Yuhao Guo, Zhaohong Han, Kazumi Wada, Jurgen Michel, Anuradha M. Agarwal, Lionel C. Kimerling, Guifang Li, and Lin Zhang
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 08, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 987 (2018)
Analysis of optical coupling behavior in two-dimensional implant-defined coherently coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser arrays
Guanzhong Pan, Yiyang Xie, Chen Xu, Yibo Dong, Jun Deng, Hongda Chen, and Jie Sun
Optical coupling behavior and associated effects in two-dimensional implant-defined coherently coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays are studied via both experiments and theoretical calculations. Experiments show that optical coupling between array elements can enhance the array’s output power. Additionally, optical coupling via leaky optical fields can provide extra optical gain for the array elements, which can then reduce the thresholds of these elements. Elements can even be pumped without current injection to emit light by receiving a strong leaky optical field from other array elements. Optical coupling can also cause unusual phenomena: the central elements in large-area coherently coupled VCSEL arrays that lase prior to the outer elements when the arrays are biased, or the average injection current required for each element to lase, which is much lower than the threshold for a single VCSEL. Theoretical calculations are performed to explain the experimental results.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1048 (2018)
Broadband terahertz rotator with an all-dielectric metasurface
Quanlong Yang, Xieyu Chen, Quan Xu, Chunxiu Tian, Yuehong Xu, Longqing Cong, Xueqian Zhang, Yanfeng Li, Caihong Zhang, Xixiang Zhang, Jiaguang Han, and Weili Zhang
Polarization manipulation is essential in developing cutting-edge photonic devices ranging from optical communication displays to solar energy harvesting. Most previous works for efficient polarization control cannot avoid utilizing metallic components that inevitably suffer from large ohmic loss and thus low operational efficiency. Replacing metallic components with Mie resonance-based dielectric resonators will largely suppress the ohmic loss toward high-efficiency metamaterial devices. Here, we propose an efficient approach for broadband, high-quality polarization rotation operating in transmission mode with all-dielectric metamaterials in the terahertz regime. By separating the orthogonal polarization components in space, we obtain rotated output waves with a conversion efficiency of 67.5%. The proposed polarization manipulation strategy shows impressive robustness and flexibility in designing metadevices of both linear- and circular-polarization incidences.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 17, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1056 (2018)
Bound states in the continuum and high-Q resonances supported by a dielectric ridge on a slab waveguide
Evgeni A. Bezus, Dmitry A. Bykov, and Leonid L. Doskolovich
We investigate the diffraction of the guided modes of a dielectric slab waveguide on a simple integrated structure consisting of a single dielectric ridge on the surface of the waveguide. Numerical simulations based on aperiodic rigorous coupled-wave analysis demonstrate the existence of sharp resonant features and bound states in the continuum (BICs) in the reflectance and transmittance spectra occurring at the oblique incidence of a transverse-electric (TE)-polarized guided mode on the ridge. Using the effective index method, we explain the resonances by the excitation of cross-polarized modes of the ridge. Formation of the BICs are confirmed using a theoretical model based on coupled-wave theory. The model suggests that the BICs occur due to the coupling of quasi-TE and quasi-transverse-magnetic modes of the structure. Simple analytical expressions for the angle of incidence and the ridge width predicting the location of the BICs are obtained. The existence of high-Q resonances and BICs enables using the considered integrated structure for sensing, transformation of optical signals, and enhancing nonlinear light–matter interactions. Due to the Lorentzian line shape of the resonances near the BICs, the structure is also promising for filtering applications.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Nov. 01, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1084 (2018)
Lasers and Laser Optics
Facile active control of a pulsed erbium-doped fiber laser using modulation depth tunable carbon nanotubes
Xintong Xu, Shuangchen Ruan, Jianpang Zhai, Ling Li, Jihong Pei, and Zikang Tang
Short pulsed fiber lasers have been widely made using single-walled carbon nanotubes as a saturable absorber (SA). However, most of the currently used devices can only operate in one determined operation state with an unchangeable modulation SA depth in the cavity, which significantly limits their application in photonic devices. In this paper, well-aligned carbon nanotube arrays are synthesized using zeolite AlPO4-5 as a template, which features anisotropic optical absorption. The linear optical absorption of the as-synthesized carbon nanotube arrays can easily be tuned by adjusting a polarization controller, thus providing a tunable modulation depth for the carbon nanotube SA. By exploiting this SA in an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity, both Q-switched and mode-locked pulsed lasers are achieved by simply adjusting a polarization controller under a fixed pump power of 330 mW. In addition, the repetition rate of the Q-switching and pulse duration of the mode-locking can be tuned according to the variation of modulation depth. Moreover, soliton molecules can be obtained when the modulation depth of the SA is 4.5%.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 996 (2018)
PbS quantum dots as a saturable absorber for ultrafast laser
Ling Yun, Yang Qiu, Conghao Yang, Jie Xing, Kehan Yu, Xiangxing Xu, and Wei Wei
Low-dimensional nanomaterials, owing to their unique and versatile properties, are very attractive for enormous electronic and optoelectronic applications. PbS quantum dots (QDs), characterized by a large Bohr radius and size-tunable bandgap, are especially interesting for photonic applications in the near-infrared region. Here, oleic acid capped colloidal PbS QDs as a saturable absorber are investigated for ultrashort-pulse generation. The PbS QDs exhibit outstanding nonlinear saturable absorption properties at 1550 nm: a modulation depth up to 44.5% and a thermal damage threshold larger than 30 mJ/cm2. By incorporating PbS QDs into a fiber laser, a transform-limited soliton pulse as short as 559 fs with a bandwidth of 4.78 nm is realized at 1563 nm. Numerous applications may benefit from the nonlinear saturable absorption properties of PbS QDs, such as near-infrared pulsed lasers and modulators.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1028 (2018)
All-fiber passively mode-locked laser using nonlinear multimode interference of step-index multimode fiber
Tao Chen, Qiaoli Zhang, Yaping Zhang, Xin Li, Haikun Zhang, and Wei Xia
We experimentally demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an all-fiber passively mode-locked laser operation based on the nonlinear multimode interference of step-index multimode fiber. Such a structure couples the light in and out of the multimode fiber via single-mode fibers, and its physical mechanisms for saturable absorption have been analyzed theoretically based on the third-order nonlinear Kerr effect of multimode fiber. Using the nonlinear multimode interference structure with 48.8 mm length step-index multimode fiber, the modulation depth has been measured to be ~5%. The passively mode-locked laser output pulses have a central wavelength of 1596.66 nm, bandwidth of 2.18 nm, pulsewidth of ~625 fs, and fundamental repetition rate of 8.726 MHz. Furthermore, the influence of total cavity dispersion on the optical spectrum, pulse width, and output power is investigated systematically by adding different lengths of single-mode fiber and dispersion compensation fiber in the laser cavity.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1033 (2018)
2.8  μm all-fiber Q-switched and mode-locked lasers with black phosphorus
Zhipeng Qin, Guoqiang Xie, Jingui Ma, Peng Yuan, and Liejia Qian
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 18, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1074 (2018)
Control of the phase of the magnetization precession excited by circularly polarized femtosecond-laser pulses
Alexander I. Chernov, Mikhail A. Kozhaev, Anastasiia Khramova, Alexander N. Shaposhnikov, Anatoly R. Prokopov, Vladimir N. Berzhansky, Anatoly K. Zvezdin, and Vladimir I. Belotelov
The inverse Faraday effect induced in magnetic films by ultrashort laser pulses allows excitation and control of spins at gigahertz and sub-terahertz frequencies. The frequency of the optically excited magnetization precession is easily tunable by the external magnetic field. On the other hand, the initial phase of the precession marginally depends on the magnetic field. Here we demonstrate an approach for the control of the precession phase by variation of the pump beam direction. In particular, we consider the case when the magnetization precession is excited by obliquely incident pump pulses in a magnetic dielectric film placed in the in-plane magnetic field. Theoretical consideration predicts that the initial phase should appear for a non-zero in-plane component of the pump wavevector orthogonal to the external magnetic field. Experimental studies confirm this conclusion and reveal that the phase grows with increase of the in-plane wavevector component. Variation of phase by 15 deg is demonstrated. Potentially, the phase could be changed even more pronouncedly by more than 90 deg. This work provides a simple way for additional manipulation with optically excited magnetization dynamics, which is of importance for different spintronic applications.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 22, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1079 (2018)
Nonlinear Optics
Superior multiphoton absorption properties in colloidal Mn-doped CsPbCl3 two-dimensional nanoplatelets
Tingchao He, Junzi Li, Xin Qiu, Shuyu Xiao, and Xiaodong Lin
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1021 (2018)
Broadband nonlinear optical resonance and all-optical switching of liquid phase exfoliated tungsten diselenide
Yue Jia, Youxian Shan, Leiming Wu, Xiaoyu Dai, Dianyuan Fan, and Yuanjiang Xiang
As a kind of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide material, tungsten diselenide (WSe2) has attracted increasing attention, owing to its gapped electronic structure, relatively high carrier mobility, and valley pseudospin, all of which show its valuable nonlinear optical properties. There are few studies on the nonlinear optical properties of WSe2 and correlation with its electronic structure. In this paper, the effects of spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) and distortion influence of WSe2 ethanol suspensions are systematically studied, namely, the nonlinear refractive index and third-order nonlinear optical effect. We obtained the WSe2 dispersions SSPM distortion formation mechanism, and through it, we calculated the nonlinear refractive index n2, nonlinear susceptibility χ(3), and their wavelength dependence under the excitation of 457 nm, 532 nm, and 671 nm lasers. Moreover, by use of its strong and broadband nonlinear optical response, all-optical switching of two different laser beams due to spatial cross-phase modulation has been realized experimentally. Our results are useful for future optical devices, such as all-optical switching and all-optical information conversion.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 16, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1040 (2018)
Optical Communications and Interconnects
Low-cost hybrid integrated 4 × 25.78 Gb/s CWDM TOSA for 10 km transmission using DFB-LDs and an arrayed waveguide grating multiplexer
Jun Liu, Qingzhong Huang, Shiqi Tao, Cheng Zeng, and Jinsong Xia
We have developed a cost-effective and highly compact 100-Gb/s coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) transmitter optical subassembly (TOSA) using lens-free hybrid integration. To achieve large alignment tolerances, distributed feedback laser diodes (DFB-LDs) are butt-coupled to a four-channel silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC) arrayed waveguide grating, with the silicon sub-mounts and PLC adhesively bonded. Then, a flexible printed circuit is employed to connect the internal DFB-LDs and the exterior of the TOSA package for radiofrequency signal transmission, eliminating the expensive ceramic feed-through. The packaged CWDM TOSA, which is 15.8 mm×7.0 mm×6.0 mm in size, shows a side-mode suppression ratio of >40 dB, a 3 dB bandwidth of >18 GHz, and error-free transmission with an average optical output power of >0 dBm and dynamic extinction ratio of >4.0 dB at 25.78125 Gb/s over a 10 km single-mode fiber for all four lanes.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 18, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1067 (2018)
Silicon Photonics
Accurate extraction of fabricated geometry using optical measurement
Yufei Xing, Jiaxing Dong, Sarvagya Dwivedi, Umar Khan, and Wim Bogaerts
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 15, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1008 (2018)
Low-noise 1.3  μm InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser monolithically grown on silicon | On the Cover
Mengya Liao, Siming Chen, Zhixin Liu, Yi Wang, Lalitha Ponnampalam, Zichuan Zhou, Jiang Wu, Mingchu Tang, Samuel Shutts, Zizhuo Liu, Peter M. Smowton, Siyuan Yu, Alwyn Seeds, and Huiyun Liu
We report low-noise, high-performance single transverse mode 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers monolithically grown on silicon (Si) using molecular beam epitaxy. The fabricated narrow-ridge-waveguide Fabry–Perot (FP) lasers have achieved a room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) threshold current of 12.5 mA and high CW temperature tolerance up to 90°C. An ultra-low relative intensity noise of less than 150 dB/Hz is measured in the 4–16 GHz range. Using this low-noise Si-based laser, we then demonstrate 25.6 Gb/s data transmission over 13.5 km SMF-28. These low-cost FP laser devices are promising candidates to provide cost-effective solutions for use in uncooled Si photonics transmitters in inter/hyper data centers and metropolitan data links.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 17, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 1062 (2018)
Spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy regulation in van der Waals crystals
Wei Zheng, Yanming Zhu, Fadi Li, and Feng Huang
Raman spectroscopy is a versatile tool widely used for comprehensive probing of crystal information. However, generally when applied in narrow-band-gap van der Waals crystals, it is liable to form a “bug,” especially in transition-metal-dichalcogenides (TMDs). That is, several resonant Raman-scattering (RS) modes will inevitably appear in the Raman spectra with strong intensity, interfering with the desired signal of optical-phonon modes. Here, we propose cross-sectional polarized Raman scattering capable of regulating the intensity of RS modes in accordance with quasi-sinusoidal rules. Typically, for MoS2 and WS2, when the polarization vector of excited light is along the c axis of the crystal, all RS modes are nearly completely “expunged” from the Raman spectra. The mechanism is that the absorption of most TMDs with a space group of R3m for the light polarized along the c axis is infinitesimal, thus forming a small coupling intensity of electronic states excited optically and acoustic-phonon modes at point M, which in turn restrain the appearance of RS modes. The regulating strategy proposed can be applied to other van der Waals crystals so as to obtain a high signal-to-noise ratio Raman spectrum.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2018
  • Vol. 6, Issue 11, 991 (2018)