TUESDAY AFTERNOON / QELs 2001 / 103
4. M.B. Plenio andV.Vedral, Contemp. Phys. 39
431 (1998).
QTuE34
Pulsations Induced by Quantum
Interference In a Microchip Solid-state
Laser Operating on a A-Transitlon
Kenju Otsuka, Jing-Yuan KO,and
Shin-ichi Higashihara, Department of Applied
Physics, Tokai University, 1117 Kitakaname,
Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-1292 Japan;
Email: ootsuka@keyaki.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp
Jyh-Long Chern, Department of Physics,
National Cheng Kung University, Tainan,
70101 Taiwan, ROC
Quantum interference in a three-level atomic sys-
tem with two fields operating in a A or V scheme
has attracted much attention as a mechanism for
the mediation of interactions between light and
matter. Amplification and even laser-behavior
without a population inversion can be produced
by such a system. Kozyreff and Pandel have re-
cently shown analytically and numerically that
atomic interference in a microchip laser with a
population inversion operating on a A-transition
should result in antiphase pulsations in the vicin-
ity of the Hopf bifurcation point’. The phenom-
enon has been observed in a LiNdP,O,, (LNP)
laser operating on a A-scheme consisting of
4F3,,( 1)+*I, ,,&2,3) transitions in a limited pump
power region .The pulsations arise from a short
photon lifetime T~ that is, because of the short-
cavity configuration, an order of magnitude
shorter than the lifetime zLof the lower laser-level
population. This creates a low-frequency coher-
ence (LFC) in the lower laser levels because of
atomic interference, and the LFC causes an in-
crease in stimulated-absorption events of a
purely quantum nature. However, the relation K
= zf/zP B 1, where zf is the upper laser-level fluo-
rescence lifetime, dramatically limits the range of
pump power over which the analysis holds,’ This
paper outlines our demonstration of peculiar
large-amplitude periodic pulsations in an intra-
cavity frequency-doubled microchip LNP laser
operating on a A-transition and contains a theo-
retical confirmation of the mechanism for these
pulsations.
We used a laser-diode-pumped 0.3-mm-thick
LNP laser attached to a 1-mm-thick intracavity
KTP crystal, which was angle-cut to be phase-
matched with the LNP laser’s 1317-nm emission,
which corresponds to the 4F,,,( 1)+41,3,2(1) tran-
sition. The standard dichromic coatings for intra-
cavity second-harmonic generation were applied
to the outer surfaces of both crystals. The inner
surfaces of the crystals were coated to make them
antireflective at both the fundamental and sec-
ond-harmonic wavelengths. In the low pump-
power region, stable single-frequency red (658.5
nm) laser-mode oscillation was obtained. When
the pump power was increased by 50% from the
threshold for this initial single-frequency oscilla-
tion, a second single-frequency red laser-mode
appeared at 666 nm. This is the second-harmonic
of the 4F,,2( 1)-+41,3,2(2)transition oscillation at
1332 nm, which forms a A configuration with the
1317-nm transition. The conversion loss at 1332
nm is lower than that at 1317 nm, so this oscilla-
tion becomes possible, although its emission
cross-section is smaller than that of the 1317-nm
transition. In this system, the generation of sum-
frequency component by interaction between the
two modes was not observed. In the single-tran-
sition oscillation regime, the laser showed stable
operation as shown in Figs. l(a) and (b), where
only small-amplitude noise-driven relaxation os-
cillations appeared. As the pump power increased
beyond the threshold for this second laser mode,
a peculiar periodic pulsation with a large ampli-
tude was observed over a wide pump-power re-
gion as shown in Figs. l(c)-(f).
In the present experiment, the photon lifetime
was two orders of magnitude shorter than the
lower laser-level lifetime in LNP. Therefore, we
derived multimode laser rate equations which
take such effects as LFC and mode-dependent
wavelength conversion losses into account. The
result of a linear stability analysis is shown in Fig.
2. The calculated Hopf bifurcation threshold
pump power coincided with the value we had ob-
served. Pulsation waveforms and corresponding
power spectra obtained by numerical simulations
of rate equations including spontaneous emis-
sion noise are shown in Fig. 3, in which the ob-
served peculiar periodic pulsations were repro-
duced surprisingly well.
QTuE34 Fig. 1. (a) 658.5 nm output at
-1.2, (c) 658.5 nm output at w = 1.35, (e)
666nm output at w = 1.35. (b), (d) and (e) are the
power spectra which correspond to waveform
(a), (c), and (e).
-s , 0.6
unstable
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
W (b)
507 1 ing high complexity and cost as well as lattice
2o Stable
10
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
W
QTuE34 Fig. 2. (a) Stationary solutions as a
function of the relative pump power. Unstable re-
gions are indicated by dotted curves. (b) Stability
diagram.
2
si 1
0
s2 1
0
0 5 10 15 0 5 10
normalizedhme normallzed frequency
__
QTuE34 Fig. 3. Numerical example of output
waveforms and power spectra. (a), (b) First lasing
mode and (c), (d) second lasing mode. w =1.5,
The spontaneous emission coefficient is 5 x lo-’.
1. G. Kozyreff and P. Mandel, Phys. Rev. A 61,
033813 (2000).
2. K. Otsuka, EA. Vitorov, and P. Mandel, Eu-
rophys. Lett. 45,307 (1999).
QTuF 2:30 pm4:15 pm
Room 339/340
Ultrafast Dynamics I
Roger W. Falcone, Univ. of California-Berkeley,
USA, Presider
QTuFl 2:30 pm
Ultrafast Dynamics of Non-Epitaxially
Grown Semiconductor-Doped Silica Film
Saturable Absorbers
R.P. Prasankumar, I. Hard, J.T. Gopinath,
E.P. Ippen, and J.G. Fujimoto, Department of
Electrical Engineeringand Computer Science,
Research Laboratory of ElectronicsMassachusetts
Institute of Technology, Bldg. 36-337,
50 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA 02139;
Email:rpprasan@mit.edu
P. Mak and M.F. Ruane, Photonics Center,
Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
Semiconductor saturable absorbers are a
widely used technology for generating femtosec-
ond pulses in solid state lasers, providing advan-
(a) tages such as self-starting operation and the po-
tential for compact laser cavities. The most
common semiconductor saturable absorber de-
vices are fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy
(MBE) and have been used for both saturable ab-
sorber modelocking and initiation of Kerr lens
modelocking (KLM) in many solid state laser sys-
2.0
tems.’” However, MBE has disadvantages includ-
matching constraints that limit material choice.
Recently, we have developed non-epitaxially
grown saturable absorber devices and applied
them to self-starting KLM in a Ti: d,O, laser?
The devices consist of InAs nanocrystallites
2.0 doped into SiO, films and deposited on sapphire
substrates using a non-magnetron radio fre-
quency (RF) sputtering system. Advantages of
this method include low cost and flexibility in
choice of the semiconductor dopant and sub-
strate materials. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA)
104 / QELS 2001 / TUESDAY AFTERNOON

from 500-750°C was used to control the absorp-

tion saturation dynamics. The structural and op-
tical properties of the devices were comprehen-
sively characterized4and the devices were used to
initiate KLM in a Ti:Al,O, laser. Self-starting25 fs
pulses were obtained with a bandwidth of 53 nm
and tuning range of 80 nm. The saturation flu-
ence of these devices was measured to be 25
mJ/cm2,which is too high to enable saturable ab-
sorber modelockingwithout KLM and also limits
the minimum achievable pulsewidth.
The current work focuses on methods for re-
ducing the saturation fluence in these devices. We
have developed a novel pump-probe system using
a broadband 5.5 fs Ti:Al,O, laser to obtain 17 fs
time resolution and independent pump and
probe wavelength tunability over a range of 700
to 1000 nm. Using this system, we have character-
ized the nonlinear optical properties of our non-
epitaxially grown semiconductor-doped silica
film saturable absorbers and discovered trends
that aid in device optimization. The devices used
in this study were fabricated with a magnetron RF
sputtering system, while varying growth parame-
ters such as InAs/SiO, ratio and substrate tem-
perature. Linear transmission measurements
(Fig. 1) and degeneratepump-probe experiments
at wavelengths between 750 and 925 nm (Fig. 2)
indicate that operation closer to the absorption
edge and fabrication of devices with larger quan-
tum dots results in lower saturation fluences.
Using these guidelines, Ids-doped silica film
saturable absorbers with an InAslSiO, ratio of
0.144 I Pump probe
40%lnAs 160%Si02
0.12
0.10
0.08
-Ada
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
I I I I
0 5 10 15 20
time (ps)
QTuFl Fig. 3. Pump-probe measurements between 1.43 pm and 1.54 jlm on annealed 40% I d s I
60% SiO, films.
40%/60% were fabricated.The saturation fluence absorber devices can significantly reduce their
of these devices at 1.5 pm was measured to be 2 saturation fluence, making them a viable alterna-
mJ/cm2 from pump-probe experiments (Fig. 3), tive to epitaxially grown saturable absorbers for
significantly lower than the previously published self-startingmodelocking in solid-state lasers.
results. These devices are currently being investi-
gated for modelocking of a KLM Cr:YAG laser.
References
We are also designing similar devices for self- 1. U. Keller, K.J. Weingarten, F.X. Kartner, D.
starting modelocking in a 14 fs KLM Cr:forsterite
Kopf, B. Braun, I.D. Jung, R. Fluck, C. Hon-
laser.6
ninger, N. Matuschek, and J. Aus der Au,
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that
“Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors
proper design of non-epitaxiallygrown saturable
(SESAM’s) for femtosecond to nanosecond
pulse generation in solid-state lasers,”IEEE J.
Select. Top. Quantum Electron. 2, 435-453

‘O01 10% lnAs /90% SiO,

,
(1996).
2. S. Tsuda, W.H. Knox, S.T. Cundiff, W.Y. Jan,
and J.E. Cunningham, “Mode-locking of ul-
trafast solid-state lasers with saturable Bragg
reflectors,” IEEE J. Select. Top. Quantum
Transmission (%) Electron. 2,454-464 (1996).
3. 1.P Bilinsky, JG. Fujimoto, L.J. Misaggia,
and J.N.Walpole, “Semiconductor-doped sil-
ica saturable absorber films for solid-state
laser modelocking,” Opt. Lett. 23,1766-1768
(1998).
I I I I I I
4. I.P. Bilinsky, J.G. Fujimoto, J.N.Walpole, and
500 I000 1500 2000 2500 3000 L.J. Misaggia, ‘‘Ids-doped silica films for
wavelength (nm) saturable absorber applications,” Appl. Phys.
Lett., 74,241 1-2413 (1999).
QTuFl Fig. 1. Linear transmission measurements on semiconductor-doped silica films with differ- 5 . U. Morgner, EX. Kartner, S.H. Cho, Y. Chen,
ent InAslSiO, ratios, showing an increase in quantum dot size with increasing InAslSiO, ratio. H.A. Haus, J.G. Fujimoto, E.P. Ippen, V.
Scheurer, G. Angelow, and T. Tschudi, “Sub-
two cycle fs-pulses from a Kerr-lens mode-
locked Tisapphire laser,” Opt. Lett., 24,
Pump probe 411413 (1999).
10% lnAs I 90% S O ,
3x10” - 6. C. Chudoba, J.G. Fujimoto, E.P. Ippen, H.A.
Haus, U. Morgner, EX. Kartner, V. Scheuer,
G. Angelow, and T. Tschudi, “All solid-state
Cr:forsterite laser generating 14 fs pulses at
2-
-AWa 1.3 pm,” to be published in Optics Letters,
2000.

1-

I
I I I I
0 5 10 15 20
time (ps)

QTuFl Fig. 2. Tunable pump-probe measurements between 750 and 925 nm on annealed 10% I d s
I 90% 50,films revealing a decrease in saturation fluence with operation closer to the absorption edge.
The magnitude of the signal is inversely proportional to the saturation fluence.