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Submission Date
Feedback on lab
performances are given
on a weekly basis.
Final Report feedback:
13/04/2016 (week 40)
Learning Outcomes
This assignment addresses the following learning
outcome(s) of the module:
Assess your ability to:
Know well the operating principle and optical properties of LDs
for the optical fiber communication system
Marks
Available
Marking Scheme
1.
Demonstration and understanding of gratings equations,
diffraction, light source spectrum
20
2.
20
3.
Results
20
4.
Answers to set questions
5.
Report Quality: includes Presentation, spelling, grammar
and reference
Marks
Awarded
20
20
Assessment Criteria
Performance Level
Criteria
Fail
(< 40%)
Report structure
Research
Referencing
Presentation
Lecturers signature:
Content
Date:
Team work
Mark awarded:
ASSIGNMENT 1
Optoelectronic Devices for
Telecommunications
Laser diodes plays an important role in communications nowadays.
Its one of the main component of high level data communications.
Due to the coherent light produced by the lasers the light output is
generally high for lasers than LEDs. This report will explain the types
of laser diodes and its properties
LASER DIODES (LDs):
The laser diode is a semiconductor device which contains a p-n
junctions sandwiched between two different types of semiconductor Ptype material and N-type material. Laser diodes produce light
stimulated emission. Stimulated emission is a process of passing a
photon by an excited electron in the higher energy level. When the
photon passes by the excited electron, electron losses energy in the
form of photon which has the same energy, frequency and phase with
the photon used for stimulation and goes to the lower energy level.
The stimulated photon stimulates other photons when reflected back
by the cavity mirrors. This way a highly coherent beam of photons
having the same energy and frequency are created and taken into the
output as a laser light. The process of stimulated emission is explained
with the help of figure below
The laser diode is the most common type of laser produced with a
wide range of uses that include communications, barcode, laser
pointers, CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc reading and recording, laser
printing, laser scanning and increasingly directional.
There many types of laser diodes some of them are explained in this
report.
These lasers are good for the fact that they lase when the cavity loss
is fairly high. The efficiency of these lasers are high and high output
power can be generated.
Distributed Feedback Lasers (DFB lasers):
Distributed Feedback lasers is a laser where the active region of
the laser device is periodically structured as diffraction grating which
acts as a distributed reflector in the wavelength range of laser action,
and contains the gain of medium. DFB laser diodes do not use two
discrete mirrors to form the optical cavity. The grating acts as the
wavelength selective element for at least one of the mirrors and
provides the feedback, reflecting light back into the cavity to form the
resonator. The periodic structure is made with a phase shift in the
middle. This structure is essentially the direct interconnection of the
two Bragg gratings with optical gain within the gratings. The device
can work in several modes but typically one of the mode is chosen in
terms of losses. The figures below shows the structure of a DFB laser
The DFB is more pure with typically just one peak with a small number
of adjacent peaks that are at least 20dB down (i.e. they are 1/100 of
the amplitude of the main peak) which are almost negligible.
Integrated DFB lasers are often used in communication applications,
such as DWDM where a tunable laser signal is desired as well as in
sensing where extreme narrow line width is required, or in gas sensing
applications, where the signal of the absorbing gas is detected while
wavelength tuning the DFB laser.
Distributed Bragg reflector Lasers (DBR lasers):
DBR is a type of single frequency diode laser, where the
resonator is made with at least one distributed Bragg reflector outside
the gain medium (cavity or active region). A DBR is a reflection mirror
which is based on Bragg reflection at a periodic structure. One end of
resonant cavity is defined by a highly reflective DBR and low reflective
cleaved exit facet on the other end. The DBR mirror is designed to
reflect only a single longitudinal mode. As a result, the laser operates
on a single spatial and longitudinal mode. The laser emits light from
the exit facet opposite the Distributive Bragg reflector end. The
schematic diagram of the DBR laser is shown below.
DBR Laser
DBR laser diodes are usually single-frequency lasers with diffractionlimited output, and often they are wavelength-tunable or tunable
laser. Tuning within the free spectral range of the laser resonator may
be accomplished with a separate phase section, which can e.g. be
In common VCSELs the upper and lower mirrors are doped as p-type
and n-type materials, which forms a diode junction. In more complex
structures, the p-type and n-type regions may be formed between the
mirrors, requiring a more complex semiconductor process to make
electrical contact to the active region.
Beam divergence is an important aspect in lasing, VCSELs provides a
low beam divergence than the DBR and DFB lasers which makes it
easy to collimate the output.
Tunable VCSELs:
The fundamental principle of operation of the tunable VCSE could
make best comprehended by looking at the simplest image of a
tunable micro mechanical Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity, as indicated on
figure. A Fabry Perot cavity is shaped between two AlGaAs dispersed
Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors with the upper DBR mirror freely
suspended 1. 23 um over the bottom DBR by a cantilever. The
cantilever will be framed by selective-etching of a sacrificial layer,
which in this state is GaAs.
The mirrors form a Fabry Perot filter such that the wavelength of tuned
emission is proportional to the distance which is separating them.
With the application of voltage, an electrostatic MEMS actuator drag
the highest mirror down, thereby decreasing the cavity length and
tuning a shorter emission wavelength. The VCSEL laser is enabled to
generate true single-mode and mode-hop free tuning.
Erbium ions Er3+ are excited into 4I13/2 state in the case of 980-nm
pumping via 4I11/2. This is shown in the energy level diagram below
Fig: Energy level structure of the trivalent erbium ion, and some common optical
transitions.
are shown
Fig: Principles of spontaneous emission of erbium; only the two lowest levels
The setup also consists up two fiber coupled optical isolators which at
the input prevents light originating from amplified spontaneous
emission from disturbing any previous stages. Whereas that at the
output suppresses lasing or possibly even destruction if output light is
Gain spectrum:
3+
Bidirectional pumping:
In Bidirectional pumping as shown in the figure below, the input signal
travels in one direction. But the there are two pump signals that travel
inside the fibre. One pump signal travels in the same direction as the
input signal and the other pump signal travels in the opposite
direction to that of the input signal.
Advantages of EDFAs:
A high power transfer efficiency from pump to signal (> 50%).
Directly and simultaneously amplify a wide wavelength region
(in the region of 1550 nm) at an output power as high as +37
dBm, with a relatively flat gain (> 20 dB), which is suitable to
WDM systems.
Saturation output is greater than 1 mW (10-25 dBm).
Disadvantages of EFDAs:
EDFAs are not small devices and cannot be integrated with other
semiconductor devices.
EDFAs exhibit amplified spontaneous light emission. That is,
even if no incoming signal is present, there is always some
output signal as a result of some excited ions in the fiber; this
output is termed spontaneous noise.
There is a possibility cross-talk.
There is gain saturation
A high beam quality implies smooth wave fronts, such that focusing
the beam with
Lens allows one to obtain a focus where the wave fronts are plane.
Scrambled wave
fronts make beam focusing more difficult as shown in the figure , i.e.,
the beam
divergence for a given spot size is increased.
Figure: A laser beam with poor beam quality. The wave fronts are somewhat scrambled,
which makes it more difficult to tightly focus the beam.
Reflective method.
Refractive method.
Diffractive method.
Field Mappers method.
Beam integration.
References
Bretschneider, E. (2016). Efficacy Limits for Solid-State White Light Sources. [online]
Photonics.com. Available at: http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=28677
[Accessed 8 Mar. 2016].
Fibercore. (2016). Fibercore - Fibercore Fiberpeadia - Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
(EDFA). [online] Available at: http://fibercore.com/fiberpaedia/erbium-doped-fiberamplifier-edfa [Accessed 10 Mar. 2016].
Laserfocusworld.com. (2016). SOLID-STATE ILLUMINATION: Four-color laser source
produces high-quality white light. [online] Available at:
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-47/issue-8/world-