Optical nonlinearities are known to coherently couple the amplitude and the phase of light, which can lead to the formation of perfectly periodic waveforms – known as frequency combs. Recently, self-starting frequency combs that do not rely on the emission of short pulses are appearing in numerous semiconductor laser types, among which is the quantum cascade laser. Here we discuss the role of a Bloch gain induced giant Kerr nonlinearity in Fabry-Pérot and ring cavity QCLs, paving the way towards electrically pumped Kerr combs.
Quantum cascade detectors (QCD) are photovoltaic mid-infrared detectors based on intersubband transitions. The sub-picosecond carrier transport between subbands and the absence of a bias voltage make QCDs ideally suited for high-speed and room temperature operation. Interband cascade detectors (ICDs) combine interband optical transitions with fast intraband transport to achieve high-frequency and broad-wavelength operation at room temperature.
We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of QCDs optimized for large electrical bandwidth. Femtosecond pulses generated by a mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator are used to demonstrate QCDs with a 3-dB bandwidth of more than 20 GHz and measure the saturation characteristics of ICDs.
Frequency combs are ideal candidates to build chip integrated spectrometers without moving parts. I will give an overview on comb generation in the mid-infrared using interband cascade lasers.
We demonstrate that ICLs naturally show the same frequency comb characteristics as QCL frequency combs and shed light into previous experiments. To generate the comb, we utilize the intrinsic fast time dynamics of the laser gain medium to enable phase-locking via four-wave mixing that is due to anti-phase oscillations of the population inversion. The observed comb state, the frequency modulated state, is fundamentally different to traditional mode-locking, where short pulses are generated.
As a main characterization technique, we use the linear RF phase measurement technique shifted wave interference Fourier transform spectroscopy (SWIFTS). A detailed comparison between SWIFTS and the intensity autocorrelation for the pulse shape characterization will be presented. A more intuitive picture of the synchronization states in frequency combs is provided by the analogy to coupled clocks, which reveals a illustrative understanding of how these lasers can be switched to the pulsed regime. Using this knowledge we demonstrate the active mode-locked mid-infrared ICLs with picosecond pulse emisson.
A key feature of ICLs is that the very same layer structure can also be used as sensitive photodetectors. The fact that ICLs utilize fast carrier transport via intersubband scattering is a great advantage for the high frequency response of the on-chip photodetectors. Combined with the low power requirements of the laser this makes ICL technology an ideal platform to realize future miniaturized dual-comb spectrometers for hand-held and battery driven devices.
[1] B. Schwarz et al. Optica 6, 890 (2019)
[2] J. Hillbrand et al. Optica 6, 1334 (2019)
[3] H. Lotfi et al. APL 109, 151111 (2016)
Optical nonlinearities are known to coherently couple the amplitude and the phase of light, which can lead to the formation of perfectly periodic waveforms – known as frequency combs. Recently, self-starting frequency combs that do not rely on the emission of short pulses are appearing in numerous semiconductor laser types, among which is the quantum cascade laser. This novel type of combs is gaining vast attention from researchers due to their self-starting nature and compactness, making them an ideal platform for further development of spectroscopic applications. Their spontaneous formation was explained through an interplay of phenomenological nonlinearity and dispersion in the laser active region, although the actual physical processes remained unclear until now. Here we show that Bloch gain – a phenomenon described by Bloch and Zener in the 1930s – plays an essential role in their formation. We demonstrate that a Bloch gain contribution is present in any quantum cascade laser and becomes particularly dominant under saturation.
Bloch gain in QCLs with ultrafast gain recovery induces a giant Kerr nonlinearity, which is two orders of magnitude larger than the bulk values. The resonant Kerr nonlinearity provides coherent coupling between the amplitude and the phase of the laser field, which serves as a locking mechanism for frequency comb operation. We show that in Fabry-Pérot QCLs this results in frequency-modulated combs with a linear frequency chirp. In ring cavity QCLs, the Bloch gain is able to induce a single-mode instability by tuning the laser in the phase turbulence regime. This can lead to the formation of locked spatial patterns that are related to dissipative Kerr solitons, paving the way towards electrically pumped Kerr combs.
Non-linear properties of buried heterostructure ring quantum cascade lasers have been investigated. Clear symmetry breaking between two counter-propagating modes has been observed with a transition to a emission that has a solitonic characteristics.
An amplitude-modulated optical frequency comb generated by a passively mode-locked InGaAs double quantum well semiconductor laser is optically injected into a laser emitting a single optical mode continuous wave output in solitary operation. Optical frequency comb generation in the injected laser is experimentally demonstrated and regimes of injection locking are analyzed.
The transition from frequency-modulated to amplitude-modulated frequency comb operation is studied experimentally in a multi-section InAs/InGaAs quantum dot frequency comb laser. Temporally and spectrally-resolved intensity and phase as well as time and frequency domain analysis allow to identify frequency-modulated and amplitude-modulated comb operation regimes in dependence on the laser gain current and absorber reverse bias voltage.
It is a well-established truth that spatial hole burning (SHB) in a standing-wave cavity is an essential single-mode instability mechanism for multimode operation of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). We discovered recently that another instability mechanism–phase turbulence–is capable of triggering an onset of previously unseen types of frequency combs in traveling-wave ring cavity QCLs in absence of SHB. This new regime of laser operation reveals a connection with Kerr combs and paves the way to manipulation and engineering of comb states in QCLs.
Frequency combs are ideal candidates to realize miniaturized spectrometers without moving parts and hence are of great interest for integrated photonics. Here, an overview on the generation electrically pumped optical frequency combs on integrated platforms using semiconductor lasers.
This includes self-starting generation of frequency modulated combs in quantum cascade laser in the 8um and interband cascade lasers in the 3-4um wavelength region, respectively. Furthermore, we will discuss how to integrate efficient high-speed modulators in these devices in order to facilitate the generation of picosecond pulses.
We will report on the high-frequency operation of QCDs, ICDs, and QWIPs connected to a monolithic coplanar transmission line without air-bridge. A single-period QCD with more than 0.8 A/W responsivity at 300K paves the way towards sensitive multiheterodyne detection at room-temperature.
A phenomenological linewidth enhancement factor (LEF) was recently used to explain a variety of laser dynamics, from free-running optical frequency combs (OFCs) to solitonic-structures in quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). In this work, we provide a physical origin of the LEF for the first time. The inclusion of scattering assisted optical transitions leads to considerable asymmetry of the gain lineshape, which induces a finite LEF. A k-space resolved density matrix model that incorporates multiple elastic and inelastic scattering mechanisms was used. A laser master equation including LEF is derived that shows OFC formation and provides a link to Kerr microresonators.
The generation of short pulses with quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) remains challenging to date due to their ultrafast gain dynamics. Here, we report on active mode-locking of mid-infrared QCLs. For the first time we show, that picosecond pulses can be generated also at room-temperature using high-performance QCL material. Mounted epi-up, the QCLs emit a train of pulses as short as a 7ps with an average power of 100mW. The nonlinear autocorrelation shows reveals the famous 8:1 ratio, which proves unambiguously that the QCL operates in the mode-locked regime. This result is further verified using the beatnote spectroscopy technique SWITS.
Frequency combs are ideal candidates to realize miniaturized spectrometers without moving parts. ICLs are perfect for the realization of miniaturized spectrometers, due to their low power consumption and the possibility to build sensitive on-chip detectors using the same epilayer material. Here, we present an overview of our current work on ICL frequency combs. This includes the generation of self-starting frequency combs utilizing their gain nonlinearity, resulting in a dominant frequency modulation similarly to quantum cascade lasers frequency combs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the generation of 3ps pulses with a peak to average power ratio of over 40 via active mode-locking.
Electrical injection locking dynamics of a monolithic edge-emitting semiconductor quantum dash frequency comb laser are investigated experimentally by beat note spectroscopy. Spectrally resolved phase and amplitude characteristics across the 10 nm broad optical comb spectra and an inter-mode beat frequency locking dynamics are reported. A locking range of 2 MHz around the fundamental repetition rate of 20 GHz and an inter-mode beat line width reduction to the line width of the electrical radio-frequency signal source are attained.
Optical frequency combs are coherent sources that emit a series of evenly spaced lines. In the mid-infrared, comb based spectroscopy is of particular interest and, without the need of any movable parts, will potentially lead to a breakthrough in miniaturization. Interband cascade lasers, with their low power consumption and inherent detection functionality, are an ideal candidate for practical implementations.
Here, we present the generation of low-dissipation optical frequency comb utilizing interband cascade lasers. Other than one might have expected, the long lifetime of the interband transition does not automatically lead to slow gain dynamics that would favor in-phase mode-locking. We discuss why ICLs should be considered as fast gain media and why passive mode-locking is difficult or even impossible to be achieved. We applying shifted-wave interference Fourier transform spectroscopy to show that ICL frequency combs naturally favor repulsive intermode beat synchronization with the same chirped FM character recently found in QCL combs. Furthermore, we show first evidence of multiple normal modes of the intermodal beats in frequency combs and picosecond pulse generation from ICLs.
Quantum cascade laser (QCL) frequency combs are electrically pumped and have a small footprint which makes
them an ideal candidate for an all-solid-state MIR spectrometer integrated at the chip-level. However, optical feedback is fatal for frequency comb generation in QCLs by destroying intermodal coherence, which limits the versatility and possible degree of integration of QCL frequency combs. In this work, we show how QCL frequency combs can be stabilized. Thereby, the frequency comb state becomes more robust against drift and noise, as well as virtually insensitive against static and dynamic optical feedback. The stability of the comb states are experimentally checked by shifted wave interference Fourier transform spectroscopy (SWIFTS), as well as by the multi-heterodyne signal using a second comb. An optimized RF compatible QWIP and phase retrieval algorithm enable the robust measurement of intermodal coherence and phase of the comb state from single shot SWIFTS interferograms in FTIR rapid-scan. The presented results pave the way to miniaturized and potentially single chip MIR spectrometers. To demonstrate that dual-comb spectrometers can be realized on a small footprint, we demonstrate a first prototype.
Following the goals of single-chip integrated dual comb spectrometers, we report on recent results on mid-infrared frequency combs. We demonstrate frequency comb operation with a bi-functional quantum cascade material, which allows the integration of lasers and detectors on one chip. With this device, we hold the power and efficiency record of QCL frequency combs. In the second part, we will present first evidence of frequency comb generation using mode-locked interband cascade lasers. With the demonstration of picosecond pulse generation in the mid-infrared, we open a new path towards battery driven sensitive high-resolution spectrometers miniaturized to chip-scale dimensions.
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