Modelling of experimentally measured Q-switched pulsations in InGaAs/GaAs diode lasers

Abstract A numerical calculation of a passively Q-switched two-section ridge-waveguide InGaAs/GaAs diode laser is presented in this study. The author has modelled the output power–current ( L – I ) variation under cw conditions, time evolution of photon numbers under transient conditions and Q-switched pulses of the device for various reverse bias voltages to the absorber section. Resulting simulations of the L – I characterisation and Q-switched pulsations are compared quantitatively with experimental results. Simulated Q-switched pulse profiles have been obtained in the absence and presence of noise. In both cases, proposed model shows that a tail occurring at the end of the Q-switched pulse is eliminated at −7.5 V reverse bias voltage, which is confirmed by experiment. As a result, experimentally obtained tail-free and single peak picosecond Q-switched pulses with peak powers of ∼1 W and durations of typically tens of picoseconds are also demonstrated theoretically. Simulations show consistency with the experimental data.

[1]  N. Dutta,et al.  Semiconductor Lasers , 1993 .

[2]  B. Sartorius,et al.  Dispersive self Q-switching in DFB-lasers: theory versus experiment , 1996, Conference Digest. 15th IEEE International Semiconductor Laser Conference.

[3]  I. Vurgaftman,et al.  Modeling of Q-switched semiconductor lasers based on type-II quantum wells: Increasing the pulse energy and peak power , 2002 .

[4]  M. O'Mahony,et al.  Relative intensity noise for laser diodes with arbitrary amounts of optical feedback , 1998 .

[5]  Peter Vasil'ev,et al.  Ultrafast Diode Lasers: Fundamentals and Applications , 1995 .

[6]  Minoru Yamada,et al.  A theoretical analysis of self-sustained pulsation phenomena in narrow-stripe semiconductor lasers , 1993 .

[7]  M. Adams,et al.  A comprehensive model for Q switching in semiconductor lasers , 1975, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[8]  Sadik Esener,et al.  Rate Equations for modeling dispersive nonlinearity in Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifiers. , 2003, Optics express.

[9]  J. N. Walpole,et al.  Semiconductor amplifiers and lasers with tapered gain regions , 1996 .

[10]  J. Aitchison,et al.  Demonstration of passive Q-switching in multiquantum well InGaAs/AlGaInAs diode laser , 2000 .

[11]  Ian H. White,et al.  Detailed large-signal dynamic modelling of DFB laser structures and comparison with experiment , 1994 .

[12]  Klaus Petermann,et al.  Noise analysis of injection-locked semiconductor injection lasers , 1986 .

[13]  B. Krauskopf,et al.  Self-pulsations of lasers with saturable absorber: dynamics and bifurcations , 1999 .

[15]  P. Gavrilovic,et al.  High energy CW Q-switched operation of multicontact semiconductor laser , 1995 .

[16]  Daan Lenstra,et al.  Nonlinear dynamics of a semiconductor laser with filtered optical feedback and the influence of noise. , 2003, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[17]  C. R. Mirasso,et al.  Self-pulsating semiconductor lasers: theory and experiment , 1999, physics/9906027.

[18]  Ian H. White,et al.  Long-wavelength monolithic mode-locked diode lasers , 2004 .

[19]  I. White,et al.  Q-switched bow-tie lasers for high energy picosecond pulse generation , 1994 .

[20]  C. Henry.  Phase noise in semiconductor lasers , 1986 .

[21]  Carrier inversion noise has important influence on the dynamics of a semiconductor laser , 2004, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[22]  Wei-Ping Huang,et al.  A self-consistent analysis of semiconductor laser rate equations for system simulation purpose , 2006 .

[23]  C. Henry.  Theory of the linewidth of semiconductor lasers , 1982 .

[24]  Y. Kiang,et al.  Self modulation phenomena in an external-cavity semiconductor laser , 2000 .