Modelocked quantum dot vertical external cavity surface emitting laser

Hoffmann, Martin; Barbarin, Y.; Maas, D. J. H. C.; Golling, Matthias; Krestnikov, I. L.; Mikhrin, S.; Kovsh, A. R.; Südmeyer, Thomas; Keller, U.

doi:10.1007/s00340-008-3267-0

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In the year 2008, the first ML QD-VECSEL had been demonstrated to generate 18-ps pulses with an average output power of 27 mW [24], whereas the demonstration of a Watt-level femtosecond QD-VECSEL with 200 W peak power was achieved recently [10]. This elucidates the significant improvements in this field.…”

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confidence: 94%

Self-mode-locked quantum-dot vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser

et al. 2014

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Self-mode-locked quantum-dot vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser

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“…The shortest pulse duration generated by a QW-VECSEL was 60 fs at less than 35 mW average output power in harmonic modelocking [7]. In contrast, so far modelocked VECSELs based on quantum dot (QD) gain structures have been restricted to 18 ps using QW-SESAMs [8] and 780 fs fs at 63 mW [9]. Continuum generation applications such as a simple white light sources for illumination in laparoscopy surgery or gigahertz frequency combs would benefit from a higher peak power at low cost.…”

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confidence: 96%

Scaling high-power ultrafast VECSELs into the femtosecond regime

et al. 2011

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Since the invention of the semiconductor laser diode, just 2 years after the first successful demonstration of a laser, the technology has made such rapid progress that continuous wave (cw) semiconductor lasers can now be found in many everyday objects. Examples are CD/DVD/Bluray players or laser printers. This breakthrough in semiconductor lasers was possible due to the semiconductor technology which enabled a high level of integration and cost-efficient mass production particularly wafer-scale technology.Besides cw operation, where light is emitted continuously over time, a laser can also generate short pulses of light, referred to as ultrafast lasers.But so far, ultrafast lasers have been only used in industry and research, in areas such as biology, medicine or metrology. The reason for this is the great complexity and the high costs of these systems, for example the titanium sapphire laser and the diode-pumped solid-state lasers. New application areas, such as the optical clocking of microprocessors, free-space data communication, multi-photon microscopy or stabilized gigahertz frequency combs generate a demand for low-cost and compact ultrafast laser sources. Semiconductor lasers would be ideally suited to this demand, but conventional semiconductor lasers are edge-emitters, for which the light propagates in the epitaxial layers. This means their power cannot simply be scaled up by increasing the mode size and they have strongly assymetric beam profiles, which makes them unsuitable for many ultrafast applications, which need a high brightness at high power levels.xxi Abstract Optically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VEC-

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“…1a). In contrast, modelocked VECSELs based on quantum dot (QD) gain structures have been restricted to 18 ps using QW-SESAMs [5].Here we report on record-high average output power of a femtosecond VECSEL ( Fig. 1a: 1 W, 784 fs) and present the first detailed study of femtosecond VECSELs modelocked by fast QD-SESAMs.…”

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“…1a). In contrast, modelocked VECSELs based on quantum dot (QD) gain structures have been restricted to 18 ps using QW-SESAMs [5].…”

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Femtosecond VECSELs with up to 1 W average output power

Hoffmann¹,

Sieber²,

Wittwer³

et al. 2011

2011 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and 12th European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO EUROPE/EQEC)

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Passively modelocked VECSELs continue to improve their performance in terms of output power, repetition rate and pulse duration. Recently, up to 6.4 W of average power in 28-ps pulses have been achieved from a modelocked VECSEL with an integrated saturable absorber (MIXSEL,[1]). The shortest pulse duration generated by a VECSEL was 60 fs and below 35 mW of average output power in harmonic modelocking [2]. To date, femtosecond VECSELs were based on quantum well (QW) gain structures and the average output power has been limited to <150 mW [3,4] (Fig. 1a). In contrast, modelocked VECSELs based on quantum dot (QD) gain structures have been restricted to 18 ps using QW-SESAMs [5].Here we report on record-high average output power of a femtosecond VECSEL ( Fig. 1a: 1 W, 784 fs) and present the first detailed study of femtosecond VECSELs modelocked by fast QD-SESAMs. We investigate the modelocking performance both for VECSELs with QD and QW gain structures. Based on our previous work on the influence of GDD on the pulse duration [6] we developed a top coating inspired by the work of Lumb et al. [7]. This top coating consists of 6 AlAs/Al0.2Ga0.8As pairs and a fused silica layer on top. The thicknesses are optimized using a Monte Carlo algorithm combined with a standard optimization. This provides a flat GDD with values between ±10 fs² over a range of 30 nm around the design wavelength (Fig. 1b) which is several orders of magnitude lower compared to previous designs. Furthermore, we optimized the positions of the gain layers in the standing wave pattern to broaden and flatten the spectral gain. The SESAM we used for the QW-VECSEL has a standard resonant design with QD saturable absorber. This SESAM has a fast absorption recovery component in the order of 800 fs. For the QD-VECSEL the same SESAM was made antiresonant by depositing a quarter-wave layer of fused silica on top. This leads to a higher saturation energy of the SESAM, which enables higher power levels. Additionally, the GDD is lowered to ±100 fs 2 in a 30 nm range around the design wavelength. -100 0 100 GDD (fs 2 ) 990 980 970 960 950 940 930 wavelength (nm) 10 mW 100 mW 1 W 10 W average output power 100 fs 1 ps 10 ps 100 ps pulse duration QW-or QD-VECSEL output coupler QD-SESAM c) a) b) Fig. 1 a) Overview of MIXSELs and ultrafast VECSELs with results presented here (red) and compared to QWVECSELs (green), QD-VECSELs (orange) and MIXSELs (blue). b) GDD of the VECSEL structure (red) and the antiresonant QD-SESAM (blue). c) Experimental setup consisting of the output coupler, the QW-or QD-VECSEL and the QD-SESAM.All these design improvements enabled the first operation of a QD-VECSEL in the femtosecond regime. For both, QD-and QW-based gain structures, we achieved a similar minimal pulse duration of 416 fs (QD) and 455 fs (QW) with 140 mW (QD) and 110 mW (QW) of average output power (Fig. 1b). Direct soldering of the QD-based gain chip onto a CVD diamond heat spreader and subsequent substrate removal enabled power scaling to 1 W average power with a pulse durati...

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Modelocked quantum dot vertical external cavity surface emitting laser

Cited by 26 publications

References 24 publications

Self-mode-locked quantum-dot vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser

Self-mode-locked quantum-dot vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser

Scaling high-power ultrafast VECSELs into the femtosecond regime

Femtosecond VECSELs with up to 1 W average output power

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