Properties and applications of external cavity semiconductor lasers

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6091781

Olsson, N A

Several characteristics and applications of external cavity controlled semiconductor lasers have been investigated and explored. The static effects on the oscillating band with and the threshold current of semiconductor lasers subject to coherent optical feedback were investigated. The experimental results show good agreement with a theoretical model based upon threshold gain calculations including the coherent nature of the optical feedback. The contribution to the index of refraction in the active region in an AlGaAs laser from the injected carriers was measured with a technique incorporating an external cavity semiconductor laser. The spontaneous lifetime of the injected carriers was measured from luminescence decays following a transient excitation of an antireflection coated AlGaAs laser. Lifetime measurements at different carrier densities reveal that the radiative recombination of the excess carriers is a combination of both monomolecular and bimolecular recombination. Using an electro-optical tuned external cavity semiconductor laser, optical FM communication is demonstrated and is shown to have several advantages over comparable AM systems. A special modelocking technique which allows double wavelength operation of tunable modelocked lasers is demonstrated and may have important applications in optical FM communication. An interferometric sensor, also incorporating an electro-optically tunable semiconductor laser, which can measure phase disturbances independently of DC drifts and low frequency phase noise, is described and demonstrated.

• OSTI ID: 6091781
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420300* -- Engineering-- Lasers-- (-1989)
ALUMINIUM
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
COMMUNICATIONS
ELEMENTS
FREQUENCY SELECTION
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
LASER CAVITIES
LASER MATERIALS
LASERS
MATERIALS
METALS
MODE LOCKING
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PNICTIDES
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS