Hybrid-cavity semiconductor lasers with a whispering-gallery cavity for controlling Q factor

Science China Information Sciences volume 61, Article number: 080401 (2018) Cite this article

Abstract

Hybrid cavities composed of a Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity and a whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcavity have been proposed and demonstrated for modulating mode Q factor to realize single mode and optical bistable lasers. In this article, we report hybrid cavity lasers with a pentagon microcavity and a square microcavity, respectively. The reflectivity spectra of different microcavities are simulated to select microcavities for hybrid cavities. Mode coupling with mode Q factor enhancement is investigated numerically and experimentally. Stable single mode operations with a high coupling efficiency to a single mode fiber are realized for a hybrid cavity laser with a square microcavity. Furthermore, optical bistability hybrid lasers are investigated as the microcavity is unbiased, due to saturable absorption in the microcavity and mode competition, respectively. All-optical flip-flop is demonstrated using trigger optical pulses with a width of 100 ps for mode competition bistability. The stable single mode operation and optical bistability of hybrid cavity lasers may shed light on the applications for photonic integrated circuits and optical signal processing.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61235004, 61527823, 61376048).

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Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors & College of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yongzhen Huang, Xiuwen Ma, Yuede Yang, Jinlong Xiao & Yun Du

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  1. Yongzhen Huang
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  2. Xiuwen Ma
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  3. Yuede Yang
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  4. Jinlong Xiao
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  5. Yun Du
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Correspondence to Yongzhen Huang.

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Cite this article

Huang, Y., Ma, X., Yang, Y. et al. Hybrid-cavity semiconductor lasers with a whispering-gallery cavity for controlling Q factor. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 61, 080401 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-017-9361-3

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Keywords

  • optical microcavity
  • semiconductor lasers
  • hybrid cavity
  • optical bistability
  • single mode laser