EE  

232  Lightwave  Devices

Lecture  2:  Basic  Concepts  of  Lasers

Instructor:  Ming  C.  Wu

University  of  California,  Berkeley
Electrical  Engineering  and  Computer  Sciences  Dept.

EE232 Lecture 2-1 Prof. Ming Wu

 Basic  Concept  of  Lasers

• Laser:  
– Light  Amplification  by  
Stimulated  Emission  of  
Radiation  
Gain • Basic  elements:
Mirror
– Gain  media
– Optical  cavity
• Threshold  condition:
Cleaved Semiconductor  Laser – Bias  point  where  laser  
Facet starts  to  “lase”
– Gain  (nearly)  equals  
loss

EE232 Lecture 2-2 Prof. Ming Wu

 L-­I  Curve  of  Semiconductor  Lasers
• Distinctive  threshold  (at  least  in  
classical  lasers)
• Semiconductor  laser  is  a  forward-­
Light  (Optical  Power,  mW)

Slope  =
biased  p-­n  junction,  so  mainly  a  
Quantum
Efficiency current-­biased  device
Slope  =
Wall-­plug • Threshold  current  :
Efficiency
Stimulated – Minimum  current  at  which  the  
Emission laser  starts  to  “lase”
Dominates
• Quantum  efficiency
Threshold  
– “Differential”  electrical-­to-­
Current optical  conversion  efficiency,  
i.e.,  how  many  photons  
Current  (mA) generated  by  injected  
electrons  beyond  threshold
Spontaneous
Emission
Dominates
• Wall-­plug  efficiency
– Total  electrical-­to-­optical  
conversion  efficiency
EE232 Lecture 2-3 Prof. Ming Wu
 “Edge-­Emitting”  Semiconductor  Lasers
g : gain coefficient [cm -1 ]
Light ampflication: I ( z ) = I 0 eGgz
G: confinement factor
Semiconductor  Laser
2 (fraction of energy in gain media)
Cleaved æ n - 1 ö
R = ç ÷ , R ~ 30% for n = 3.5 Threshold condition:
Facet è n + 1 ø
Round-trip gain = 1
eGgL -ai L R1eGgL -ai L R2 = 1

I ( z) 1 a iæ 1 ö a i + a m
g = gth = + ln ç ÷ =
G 2GL è R1 R2 ø G
ìa i : intrinsic loss
z ï
L í 1 æ 1 ö mirror loss
ïa m = 2 L ln ç R R ÷ : (i.e., output light)
î è 1 2 ø

EE232 Lecture 2-4 Prof. Ming Wu

 Modern  Lasers
• Optical  cavity  does  not  necessarily  consist  of  mirrors

EE232 Lecture 2-5 Prof. Ming Wu

 Generic  Description  of  Optical  Cavity
Quality Factor:
Energy Stored
Q=
Energy Dissipated per Cycle
Gain
w
Q=
Dw
1
Cavity Dw =
t p
t p : photon lifetime [sec]
1 c æ a : loss rate per cm ö
= a
Energy

ç ÷
1 t p n è 1/ t p : loss rate per sec ø
Dw =
t p
Q = wt p
w
EE232 Lecture 2-6 Prof. Ming Wu
 Photon  Lifetime  and  Spectral  Width

Decay of optical energy when input is turned off

(ring-down measurement):
- t /t p

Energy
I (t ) = I 0 e for t ³ 0 I (t ) = I 0 e
- t /t p

Electrical (optical) field:

jw0t - t /2t p
E (t ) = E0 e e for t ³ 0
Frequency domain response (Fourier transform): Time
¥
jw0t - t /2t p 1
H (w ) = ò e e e - jwt
dt = H (w )
j (w - w0 ) + 1/ 2t p

Energy
0

1 1
2 Dw =
FWHM of H (w ) : w - w0 = ± t p
2t p
1 w
Dw =
t p Frequency

EE232 Lecture 2-7 Prof. Ming Wu

 Threshold  Condition  of  Generic  Lasers
Gain = Loss
(rate of gain = rate of loss)
c 1 w
Gain Ggth = =
n t p Q
w n
gth =
Cavity Q Gc

Quantum efficiency:
a m -1
Qrad -1
Qrad
Energy

h = = -1 = -1
1 a m + a i Qrad + Qloss Q
-1
Dw =
t p Q
h =
Qrad
w
EE232 Lecture 2-8 Prof. Ming Wu
 Typical  Q  of  Semiconductor  Laser

Edge-emitting laser:
L = 100µ m, R = 30%, ω ~ 100THz , τ p ~ 1ps, Q ~ 600

Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL)

L = 1µ m, R = 99%, Q ~ 700

Microdisk (Whispering Gallery Mode or WGM) Laser

Q ~ 1000 (up to 1011 possible in low loss materials)

Photonic crystal laser: Q ~ 1000 (up to 106 possible)

Metal cavity laser (plasmonic laser): Q ~ 10 to 100

EE232 Lecture 2-9 Prof. Ming Wu
 Gain  Cross-­Section
Gain cross-section (instead of gain coefficient) is often used
to measure the gain in gas or solid-state lasers:
s : [cm 2 ]
Gain cross-section is related to gain by:
g = Ns
where N is concentration of active molecules

For comparison, in semiconductor lasers:

g ~ 100 cm -1
N ~ 1018 cm -3 (typical electron concentration at threshold)
s ~10-16 cm 2 (= (0.1nm) 2 )
Note:  more  precise  relation  between  gain  and  carrier  concentration  will  be  
discussed  in  future  lectures
EE232 Lecture 2-10 Prof. Ming Wu