Laser diode structure for the generation of high-power picosecond optical pulses

Vainshtein, Sergey N.; Kostamovaara, J.; Shestak, Larisa; Sverdlov, Mikhail; Tret’yakov, V. V.

doi:10.1063/1.1486478

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Gain switching of semiconductor lasers, known for their high efficiency, compactness, and ease of current pumping, is arguably the best way of producing such pulses [1], [2]. The gain switching regime has been subject to extensive theoretical (see, e.g., [3]- [5]) and experimental (see, e.g., [5]- [13]) studies for a long time. It has been found that in order to maximize both the peak power and the total energy of the optical pulse, the design of lasers for gain switching may need to be different from that used for CW applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been found that in order to maximize both the peak power and the total energy of the optical pulse, the design of lasers for gain switching may need to be different from that used for CW applications. A number of specialist gain-switched or combined gain-and Q-switched [11]- [13] laser designs have been suggested, and pulses with an energy >1 nJ have been demonstrated. Most of the earlier approaches used purpose-built ultrafast GaAs-based current pulse generators providing current pulses with an amplitude significantly exceeding 10 A.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-Energy Picosecond Pulse Generation by Gain Switching in Asymmetric Waveguide Structure Multiple Quantum Well Lasers

Huikari

Avrutin

Ryvkin

et al. 2015

IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron.

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A multiple quantum well laser diode utilizing an asymmetric waveguide structure with a large equivalent spot size of ∼3 μm is shown to give high energy (∼1 nJ) and short (∼100 ps) isolated optical pulses when injected with <10 A and ∼1-ns current pulses realized with a MOS driver. The active dimensions of the laser diode are 30 μm (stripe width) and 3 mm (cavity length), and it works in a single transversal mode at a wavelength of ∼0.8 μm. Detailed investigation of the laser behavior at elevated temperatures is conducted; it is shown that at high enough injection currents, lasers of the investigated type show low temperature sensitivity. Laser diodes of this type may find use in accurate and miniaturized laser radars utilizing single photon detection in the receiver.Index Terms-Semiconductor lasers, quantum well lasers, optical pulses, gain switching, laser radar.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Energy Picosecond Pulse Generation by Gain Switching in Asymmetric Waveguide Structure Multiple Quantum Well Lasers

Huikari

Avrutin

Ryvkin

et al. 2015

IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron.

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“…. R 0 that it takes to charge the capacitor C 0 (see Fig.12) between two pulses, so that the repetition rate cannot be higher than f R m~[ (2)(3) . τ 0 ] -1 .…”

Section: Possible Bottlenecks For the Maximum Repetition Rate In Highmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Laser diodes with direct current pumping are ideally suited for all these requirements, except that only a few techniques can provide high peak power (~10-100 W) in a single picosecond-range pulse [3][4][5] . All the possible candidates are widestripe picosecond laser diodes, which require pumping with high-current (~10 2 A) pulses of a duration of a few nanoseconds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-repetition-rate current drivers for picosecond laser modules employed in high-precision laser radars and 3D vision

2003

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High-precision laser radars and 3D vision systems with millimetre resolution require high-power picosecond optical pulses from laser diodes with direct current pumping in order to satisfy the requirements of low price, compactness and high reliability. A new laser diode capable of generating~50 W / 20 ps optical pulses for such applications has been proposed recently, but one very important technical limitation for many industrial applications lies in its repetition rate, which is at present limited to~50 kHz. This limitation originates from the heat dissipation in the Si-based, high-current nanosecond avalanche transistors used for laser pumping. It is shown in the paper, by using the 2D semiconductor device simulator, that the heat generation is powerfully localized in the avalanche transistor structure during the switching-on stage, but that in spite of this the associated thermal dynamics permits a higher maximum repetition rate than that observed experimentally. Moreover, smart designing of the semiconductor layers and construction of the heat sink should allow the limitation to exceed 1MHz. The lower limit observed so far in the experiments is caused by the stage of the voltage recovery across the transistor and may be softened by advanced circuit design.

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“…Practical applications which would benefit from the development of a high-speed semiconductor device of this kind are advanced radars with high single-shot resolution 1 , precise 3 D imaging 2 , laser tomography, time imaging spectroscopy, etc. It would also be fairly attractive to use this switch for feeding the recently suggested picosecond laser diodes 3 and others 4 . High-speed (ps-range) high voltage pulses could be used in electro-optical and electron beam shutters, streak-camera sweep modules, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Picosecond range switching of a GaAs avalanche transistor due to bulk carrier generation by avalanching Gunn domains

Vainshtein

Yuferev

Kostamovaara

2004

Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII

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Superfast high current switching of a GaAs-based JBT in the avalanche mode has been achieved experimentally for the first time. A very fast reduction in the voltage across the transistor was observed (~ 200-300 ps) and the amplitude of the current pulses ranged from 2 to 130 A depending on the load resistance. It was observed experimentally that the switching occurs in a number of synchronized current channels with a characteristic diameter of ≤ 10 microns. A 1D simulation code was developed and the switching transient for a single channel was simulated, with the external circuit incorporated into the simulations. Photon-assisted carrier transport and negative differential electron mobility were taken into account in the theoretical model. The former does not play an appreciable role in the 1D switching transient, although the latter determines superfast switching at extreme current densities (> 1 MA/cm 2 ). Superfast switching occurs due to the appearance of a number of Gunn domains at any instant (up to ~ 20 domains across a collector region ~30 microns in thickness). These domains of huge amplitude (up to ~700 kV/cm) are moving towards the cathode and give rise to extremely high ionization rates across the volume of the channel in the n 0 collector region. The simulations provide a fairly reliable interpretation of the experimentally observed switching time, which is shorter than that in Si avalanche transistors by a factor of ~15. The new device is fairly attractive, e.g. for feeding pulsed laser diodes when the current rise time should be shorter than the lasing delay.

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Laser diode structure for the generation of high-power picosecond optical pulses

Cited by 16 publications

References 4 publications

High-Energy Picosecond Pulse Generation by Gain Switching in Asymmetric Waveguide Structure Multiple Quantum Well Lasers

High-Energy Picosecond Pulse Generation by Gain Switching in Asymmetric Waveguide Structure Multiple Quantum Well Lasers

High-repetition-rate current drivers for picosecond laser modules employed in high-precision laser radars and 3D vision

Picosecond range switching of a GaAs avalanche transistor due to bulk carrier generation by avalanching Gunn domains

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