Analysis of parameter influence law of waveguide Bragg grating

The paper reviews recent results obtained with diode lasers used in external hybrid cavities with frequency selective feedback. Such cavities attract continuing interest for several reasons. They generate a tunable single laser mode with very low linewidths (usually a few tens of kilohertz). Very wide discrete tunable ranges over 100 nm for Fabry-Perot type and over 200 nm for quantum well lasers are achieved. They can be made to oscillate in a tunable mode having the desired polarization state,TE orTM and, in some cases, simultaneously atTE andTM. This is done by designing a cavity that increases strongly theTM/TE intensity ratio and by using coatings on one laser facet that greatly lower bothTE andTM reflectivities. High-speed polarization switching in the gigahertz range is possible by inserting passive or active polarization selecting elements in the cavity. For all these reasons hybrid external cavities are attractive for applications in optical metrology, spectroscopy and optical communications. Moreover, the external cavity configuration allows the study of physical mechanisms in the laser diode by inducing on purpose phenomena that would have been otherwise impossible to achieve with free-running lasers.

Chip-scale lasers with a wide tunable range and a narrow linewidth have rich applications in optical communications, sensing, and light detection and ranging systems. External cavity lasers (ECLs) have the advantage of a wide tuning range and a narrow linewidth compared with their counterparts such as distributed feedback lasers and distributed Bragg reflector lasers because the passive filter separated from the gain section can be widely tuned and the low-loss external cavity extends the photon lifetime. However, so far, the tuning range achieved by the chip-scale ECLs is in the range of 80–120 nm, smaller than that of the bulk free-space ECL (typically >160 nm). The bottleneck in reaching an ultrabroad tuning range for chip-scale ECLs lies in the unsuppressed side modes of the external cavity. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid-integrated ECL consisting of a broadband III–V reflective semiconductor optical amplifier and a low-loss Si3N4 wavelength-selective reflector. A record 172-nm lasing wavelength tuning range together with a more than 40 dB side-mode suppression ratio is achieved beyond the free spectral range of the Vernier ring filter due to the enhanced lasing mode selection from a tunable Sagnac loop reflector. The Si3N4 platform enables a low-loss external cavity, facilitating laser linewidth reduction below 4 kHz over the full tuning range. The on-chip output power reaches 26.7 mW at a wavelength of 1550 nm.

Harnessing the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is an appealing approach to developing photonic technologies for future applications in optical communications and high-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. An outstanding challenge to the widespread uptake of the OAM resource is its efficient generation. In this work we design a new device that can directly emit an OAM-carrying light beam from a low-cost semiconductor laser. By fabricating micro-scale spiral phase plates within the aperture of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), the linearly polarized Gaussian beam emitted by the VCSEL is converted into a beam carrying specific OAM modes and their superposition states, with high efficiency and high beam quality. This new approach to OAM generation may be particularly useful in the field of OAM-based optical and quantum communications, especially for short-reach data interconnects and QKD. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America

Tunable optical delay devices have numerous applications in optical communications [1] and have been successfully implemented using slow light elements and fiber or waveguide gratings. There has been considerable interest in siliconon- insulator (SOI) as a technology platform for compact integration of optical signal processing systems. SOI-based delay lines have been realized using coupled ring resonators [2], photonic crystals [3], and various Bragg grating-based configurations including single or coupled chirped sidewall gratings [4,5] as well as tapered rib waveguide gratings [6]. By linearly chirping the period in sidewall gratings, relatively small delays (a few ps) over a bandwidth of tens of nm were demonstrated [4]; with tapered waveguides, significantly larger delays (300-500 ps) were obtained, albeit over a narrower bandwidth (< 2 nm) [6]. On the other hand, some signal processing applications may require large delays (e.g., tens to hundreds of ps) over large bandwidths (several to tens of nm). Several designs have been proposed to meet these requirements, e.g., a step-chirped rib waveguide grating providing 50 ps delay over 15 nm [7] or complementary apodized sidewall gratings providing up to 275 ps over 3 nm [8], however, they have not been realized experimentally. In this paper, we demonstrate discretely tunable optical delay lines that provide tens of ps delay (up to 65 ps) in steps of 15-32 ps over bandwidths of several tens of nm (35-70 nm). The devices are fabricated on SOI using electron beam lithography and implemented through two different approaches: serial sidewall Bragg grating arrays and the step-chirped sidewall Bragg gratings.

The paper reviews recent results obtained with diode lasers used in external hybrid cavities with frequency selective feedback. Very wide discreet tunable ranges are achieved. They can be made to oscillate in a tunable mode having the desired polarization state TE or TM. High-speed polarization switching in the GHz range is possible by inserting passive or active polarization selecting elements in the cavity. Hybrid external cavities are attractive for applications in optical metrology spectroscopy and optical communications.

Optical communications and sensing systems have required optical fibers to meet the demanding applications day by day, such as high bit rates, dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) and long distance, so that there could be always renewed interest in fiber designs to lift fundamental limitations of silica optical fibers. One kind of fiber, which is different from the conventional fiber, is silica photonic crystal fiber (PCF) that has an array of microscopic air-holes running along its length. For PCF, there are two distinct classes as the guidance; one is using a type of total internal refection which is referred to the terms microstructured fiber, holey fiber, effective-index fiber, and hole-assisted fiber, and the other is employing photonic band-gap which is referred to photonic band-gap, Bragg fiber, and omni-directional waveguide. In this paper, we will address recent advances in PCFs. While the potential applications are also addressed, the emphasis will be on PCFs for applications in optical communications and sensing systems.

Optical isolation enables nonreciprocal manipulations of light with broad applications in optical communications. Optical isolation by rotating structures has drawn considerable attention due to its magnetic-free nature and unprecedented performance. Conventional rotation-based optical isolation relies on the use of bulky cavities hindering applications in subwavelength photonics. Here, we propose a mechanism of optical isolation by integrating the unique dispersion of a hyperbolic metamaterial with the transverse spin-orbit interaction of evanescent waves. We show that rotation of a subwavelength hyperbolic nanoparticle breaks the time-reversal symmetry and yields two resonant chiral modes that selectively couple to the transverse spin of waveguide modes. Remarkably, the transverse spin-orbit interaction can give rise to unidirectional coupling and more than $95%$ isolation of infrared light at an experimentally feasible rotation speed. Our work fuses the two important fields of optical isolation and photonic spin-orbit interactions, leading to magnetic-free yet compact nonreciprocal devices for applications in optical communications, chiral quantum optics, and topological photonics.

Polarization dependence of UV-written Bragg gratings in buried ion-exchanged glass waveguides is investigated. A polarization-dependent shift in Bragg wavelength of less than 0.02 nm is measured, both for the even and the odd modes of a laterally dual-mode waveguide. The measured wavelength shift corresponds to a waveguide birefringence of the order of 10(-5), which is negligible for most applications in optical communications. It is observed that the UV-induced birefringence is small, within the limits of the measurement accuracy. The thermal stability of the fabricated gratings is also very good. The results are of particular importance for devices considered here since they require a polarization-independent mode-converting waveguide Bragg grating. Polarization-independent performance of these gratings enables the fabrication of a new class of integrated optical devices for telecommunication applications.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a key enabling technology for increasing the transmission capacity of optical fiber communication systems. Recently, a new family of optoelectronic devices, including detectors, switches, and emitters, that is based on resonant cavity enhancement, has emerged. Wavelength selective optoelectronic switching is achieved by placing a photothyristor in an asymmetric Fabry-Perot cavity, which provides a highly selective response at a wavelength determined during device fabrication. These WDM optoelectronic devices haue promising applications in optical COmmunications and optical logic circuits. Results on a N-p-n-p optoelectronic switch with a ten wavelength channel capability are presented.

Abstract

The multi-channel perfect vortex (PV) array based on metasurface has important applications in optical communication, particle manipulation, quantum optics, and other fields due to its ultra-thin structure and excellent wavefront control ability. However, it is very challenging to utilize a single metasurface to simultaneously achieve independent channel PV arrays at different wavelengths with low crosstalk and low structural complexity. Here, we propose and design a single rectangular structured metasurface based on TiO2, achieving a multi-channel PV beam array with dual-wavelength and dual-polarization multiplexing. Simulation and experimental results show that when two orthogonal linearly polarized beams with wavelengths of 532 nm and 633 nm are incident on the metasurface, clear PV arrays with corresponding topological charge arrangements can be obtained in different diffraction regions of the same observation plane. The metasurface proposed in this article can enhance the channel capacity of a PV beam array through wavelength-polarization-multiplexing, thus having important application potential in spatial information transmission, high-dimensional information storage, and secure information encryption.

We fabricate a few-mode polarization-maintaining fiber (FM-PMF) and present a technique for generating circularly polarized (CP) vortex beam, carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) and spin angular momentum (SAM), by twist method. By controlling the direction of twist, a right-handed circularly polarized (RCP) OAM+1 mode with a mode purity of ~96.2% and a polarization extinction ratio (PER) of ~0.75 dB, as well as a left-handed circularly polarized (LCP) OAM-1 mode with a mode purity of ~95.3% and a PER of ~0.82 dB can be selectively obtained. Additionally, the twisted FM-PMF is encapsulated as a CP mode converter, operational in the range of 1530-1560 nm. This mode converter is applied into an all-fiber narrow-linewidth single-frequency laser system, successfully generating the CP vortex laser beam at 1560 nm with an out power of 33 mW. The proposed CP mode converter has potential applications in optical communication, high-power lasers, optical sensing, high-resolution imaging, and beyond.

Machine learning can solve many applications in optical communications, but its benefits are largely validated offline using conventional computers. We will introduce a radically new hardware platform, neuromorphic photonics, for machine learning, and review its applications in different optical communication systems.

Multiplexing and demultiplexing of optical orbital angular momentum (OAM) are critical operations in mode-division multiplexing communications. Traditional Dammann gratings, spiral phase planes, and optical geometric transformations are regarded as convenient methods for OAM mode (de)multiplexing. However, crosstalk between the different modes and the difficulty of mode multiplexing greatly limit their application to mode-division multiplexing communications. Here, using a set of inversely-designed phase planes, we demonstrate an OAM (de)multiplexer based on multiphase plane light conversion that can enable perfect OAM multiplexing communication. The sorted patterns are Gaussian-like and can be coupled easily into single-mode fiber arrays. Inputs from the fiber array are turned into coaxial OAM modes after the phase planes. OAM mode crosstalk generated by the multiplexer is less than − 20 dB , with insertion loss of less than 2.6 dB. OAM modes are sorted by the demultiplexer with mode crosstalk below − 10 dB , and the sorting results are coupled to the fiber array. OAM modes carrying 10 Gbit/s on–off keying signals were transmitted in a 5 km few-mode fiber. The measured bit-error-rate curves have power penalties of less than 10 dB. The proposed configuration is highly efficient and convenient and will be beneficial for potential applications in quantum information, information processing, and optical communications.

Focusing on the frequency division multiplexing technology in the applications of large scale optical communication, the double-channel optical gain spectrum with two frequency bands is studied in this paper. The double-channel gain spectrum, named probe channel and four wave mixing channel, comes from a co-propagating degenerate four wave mixing in a hot atomic ensemble. The intention is to divide the gain spectrum into several sub frequency bands through dressed four wave mixing. When a dressed field is exerted on one transition that shares the common excited state with the degenerate four wave mixing, the excited state can experience dressed splitting. It opens two transition paths for the degenerate four wave mixing simultaneously. Because of quantum interference between the two paths, the degenerate four wave mixing are suppressed at two-photon resonance. Consequently, Autler-Townes splitting appears in the gain spectrum, i.e. spectrum is changed from single frequency band into two “M”-type bands. In this paper, the nonlinear density matrix element describing the degenerate (dressed) four wave mixing is solved through perturbation theory, and then the gain spectrum in Doppler broadening atomic medium is plotted, and its Autler-Townes splitting is analyzed by using the dressed-state theory. It shows that the Autler-Townes splitting depends on both the Rabi frequency and single photon detuning of the dressed field. Relevant experiment is performed in cesium vapor at 60 ℃, a pair of high-gain optical spectra with two frequency bands for both double channels is successfully obtained. Moreover, the Autler-Townes splitting as a function of the dressed field intensity and single photon detuning are studied quantitatively. The experimental results accord well with the theoretical predictions. Compared with the degenerate four wave mixing, the atom-field coupled system is changed from an original open two-level into a closed Λ three-level due to the external dressed field, which greatly improves the atomic population on the coherent ground state via optical pumping, and therefore enhancing the gain significantly. This work is important for the field of atom-based optical communication. It provides an optional way of conveying multi-frequency information to the two parallel channels as well as improving the gain of four wave mixing.