In this paper, we experimentally and theoretically analyse the formation and interaction of dark solitons in a long laser. The laser includes a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), centred around 1300nm, an intracavity filter and a fibre cavity whose length can vary from 20m to 20km. Near the lasing threshold the laser exhibits slowly evolving power dropouts the circulate the cavity. These dropouts are associated with the formation of Nozaki-Bekki Holes (NBH), also referred to as dark solitons. We observe both experimentally and numerically that the core of these holes exhibit chaotic dynamics and emit short light pulses. These pulses are found to be blue shifted with respect to the frequency of the dark solitons and therefore travel with a faster group velocity. These pulses are strongly damped, as they are detuned with respect to the filter transmission, but they may lead to the creation of new dark solitons. These pulses also play a major role in the development of optical turbulence when the filter is set at a frequency above 1310nm. In this case, the laser displays numerous dark solitons per round trip and the fast travelling pulses act as an interaction between the solitons, which can lead to the development of defect mediated turbulence.
This paper aims to characterise, both experimentally and theoretically, the dynamics which occur during the turn on transient of a long cavity semiconductor laser. The laser comprised of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), centered around 1300nm, a tuneable narrow bandwidth filter, for wavelength selectivity, a polarisation controller, an output coupler and multiple single mode fibre isolators to ensure the unidirectional propagation of light within the ring cavity. The bias current driven to the SOA was periodically switched on and off in order to examine the laser dynamics within each cavity round trip. It is observed that the laser intensity builds up in a step-wise manner, with each step corresponding to one cavity round trip. By examining the space-time diagrams of the lasers intensity during the turn on, it is seen that the laser will initially randomly oscillate before transitioning into a semi-stationary state. After a certain amount of round trips the laser may develop one or more localised structures, characterised by their short and fast drops of intensity. In this paper we also aim to not only explain the formation of these localised structures but also expand on their development by examining the phase evolution of their electric field.
We present here a combined theoretical and experimental study to investigate the influence of external optical feedback in a semiconductor swept-source laser. The applied feedback is shown to transfer the coherence between the subsequent modes and retain it along the full sweep. As a result, the technique can act as a solution to the de-coherence during the mode-hops observed in this kind of swept-source lasers thus noticeable increasing the image quality of Optical Coherence Tomography systems.
In this paper we study, both experimentally and theoretically, the turn on transient dynamics observed in a long (20m) cavity laser. The laser consists of a ring cavity based on a single mode fiber with unidirectional propagation of light. The gain is provided by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) centered around 1300nm and wavelength selection is provided by a tunable narrow transmission bandwidth Fabry-Perot filter. At high bias current and when the filter transmission sets the laser to operate in an anomalous dispersion regime, the laser exhibits only chaotic oscillations, while in a normal dispersion regime, the laser can exhibit stable operation. At a bias current close to the threshold the laser always exhibits multiple dropouts. In order to record the lasing build up dynamics, the bias current driven to the SOA is periodically switched from the off-state to a high current level. The lasing build up occurs at each roundtrip via a step-wise increase of the laser intensity. The laser intensity is widely oscillating during the first steps and approaches a stationary state after a large number of roundtrips. Recording of the phase evolution of the electric field during each step demonstrates the linewidth narrowing at each subsequent roundtrip. Theoretically, we describe the system by a set of delay differential equations and observe similar behavior. While typically a semiconductor laser exhibits relaxation oscillations before reaching the stable lasing regime, which is associated with class B lasers, our study shows that the long cavity laser demonstrates a different mechanism of lasing build up.
In this paper, we will discuss the properties of long cavity frequency sweeping lasers and demonstrate various scenarios of coherence deterioration in such lasers. The long cavity lasers are known to demonstrate a rich variety of dynamical regimes including the formation of localised structures and transition to turbulence. The interest to frequency sweeping long cavity lasers has recently increased due to their application for imaging and sensing. For these applications, the stability of the laser is an important parameter as it directly influences its coherence and therefore, the quality of the obtained images.1 Our laser consists of a fiber based ring cavity resonator including a semiconductor optical amplifier as a gain medium and a Fabry-Perot tunable filter. Experimentally, we considered different laser configurations which has allowed us to study the influence of the cavity length, frequency sweeping speed and the detuning. We considered the dynamical regimes of the laser operating at a static (fixed output frequency) and quasi { static regimes. The study shows that the laser can be stable or unstable and demonstrate localised structures stable over multiple roundtrips. We also show the connection of the dynamics observed in the static, quasi-static and synchronisation regimes of long cavity lasers. Numerically, we used a model based on a system of delayed differential equations. The numerical simulation showed excellent agreement with the experimental data. We also show the formation of dark pulses, both periodic and nonperiodic, and showed that they are closely connected to Nozaki-Bekki holes previously predicted in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.
We show theoretically that optical feedback can be used to phase lock the successive modes of multi-section frequency-swept source lasers as a means to increase the coherence length. The time-gated feedback technique can be applied to transfer the coherence between the subsequent modes to retain the coherence along the full sweep or to synchronise two independent swept sources. In analogy with CW lasers, we derive an Adler equation describing the locking conditions. When the constant feedback is applied, the laser can operate in a self-mixing, mode-locking or chaotic regime, depending on the sweeping speed. In order to verify the theoretical results, we have developed an experimental set up and performed initial measurements with optical feedback.
Long cavity fibre-based wavelength sweeping lasers are promising devices with a wide range of potential applications ranging from communications to life sciences. For example, Fourier Domain Mode-Locked (FDML) lasers, which are commonly used for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging applications are long cavity lasers incorporating an intra-cavity resonator driven in resonance with the cavity round trip time. The coherence properties of such swept sources are of major importance as they define the image quality. The purpose of this work is to analyze the mechanism that deteriorates the coherence of long lasers. In our experiment, the laser included a 100nm wide semiconductor optical amplifier at 1310nm and a fibre cavity that could vary from 20m to 20km. the laser emission wavelength was controlled using a fibre based intra-cavity filter with a bandwidth of 10GHz. Near the lasing threshold and/or for fast carrier decay rate, we observed the appearance of periodic power dropouts with stable Nozaki-Bekki holes (NBH) that circulate in the laser cavity. As a function of the injection current, the laser could operate in various regimes including bi-stability between NBH and stable (cw) operation, unstable NBH or chaotic operation. Such behavior indicates that the interplay between the injection current and carrier decay rate can lead to highly coherent emission of a long cavity laser.
Fourier Domain Mode Locked laser is a novel fast frequency swept source used in Optical Coherence Tomography. The laser has a unidirectional all-fiber ring cavity that incorporates a semiconductor optical amplifier, a tunable Fabry-Perot filter and a fiber delay forming the cavity of up to 20km long. Our numerical modeling based on a set of delay differentiation equations is in excellent agreement with the experimental results that employed real-time intensity and phase characterisation techniques. We show that FDML lasers display a sequence of bifurcations that can co-exist within a sweep and lead, in particular, to the formation of Nozaki-Bekki holes.
Multiple reference optical coherence tomography (MR-OCT) applies a unique low-cost solution to enhance the scanning depth of standard time domain OCT by inserting an partial mirror into the reference arm of the interferometric system. This novel approach achieves multiple reflections for different layers and depths of an sample with minimal effort of engineering and provides an excellent platform for low-cost OCT systems based on well understood production methods for micro-mechanical systems such as CD/DVD pick-up systems. The direct integration of a superluminescent light-emitting diode (SLED) is a preferable solution to reduce the form- factor of an MR-OCT system. Such direct integration exposes the light source to environmental conditions that can increase fluctuations in heat dissipation and vibrations and affect the noise characteristics of the output spectrum. This work describes the impact of relative intensity noise (RIN) on the quality of the interference signal of MR-OCT related to a variety of environmental conditions, such as temperature.
A novel, time-resolved interferometric technique is presented allowing the reconstruction of the complex electric field output of a fast frequency swept laser in a single-shot measurement. The power of the technique is demonstrated by examining a short cavity swept source designed for optical coherence tomography applications, with a spectral bandwidth of 18 THz. This novel analysis of the complete electric field reveals the modal structure and modal evolution of the device as well as providing a time-resolved real-time characterization of the optical spectrum, linewidth and coherence properties of a dynamic rapidly swept laser.
We analyse the dynamical behaviour of a Fourier domain mode locked laser experimentally and theoretically. Heterodyne measurements of laser dynamics allows some insight into the frequency behaviour of the laser which coupled with theoretical arguments from previous work allow for a clear interpretation of the observations. Direct simulations using a delay differential equation model in full FDML mode display excellent agreement with the experimental results.
An experimental and theoretical analysis of the dynamics of a Fourier domain mode locked laser, currently one of the fastest swept source lasers applied in optical coherence tomography, is performed. A novel time- resolved technique to measure the laser output electric field allows access to the phase dynamics of the laser and thus the coherence properties. A delay-differential equation model for the laser is used to analyse the system theoretically and via direct simulation. Numerical simulations of the laser output are in excellent agreement with experimentally measured data.
We analyse the dynamical behaviour of a short cavity OCT swept-source laser experimentally and theoretically. Mode-hopping, sliding frequency mode-locking and chaos are all observed during the laser sweep period. Hetero- dyne measurements of laser dynamics allows some insight into the behaviour of the laser, while interferometric techniques allow the full phase reconstruction of the laser electric field. A delay differential equation enables modelling of the laser output, and laser parameters can be altered to provide optimisation conditions for future laser designs.
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