The cost effective comb based laser sources are considered to be one of the prominent emitters used in optical communication (OC) and photonic integrated circuits (PIC). With the rising demand for delivering triple-play services (voice, data and video) in FTTH and FTTP-based WDM-PON networks, metropolitan area network (MAN), and short-reach rack-to-rack optical computer communications, a versatile and cost effective WDM transmitter design is required, where several DFB lasers can be replaced by a cost effective broadband comb laser to support on-chip optical signaling. Therefore, high performance quantum dot (Q.Dot) comb lasers need to satisfy several challenges before real system implementations. These challenges include a high uniform broadband gain spectrum from the active layer, small relative intensity noise with lower bit error rate (BER) and better temperature stability. Thus, such short wavelength comb lasers offering higher bandwidth can be a feasible solution to address these challenges. However, they still require thorough characterization before implementation. In this project, we briefly characterized the novel quantum dot comb laser using duty cycle based electrical injection and temperature variations where we have observed the presence of reduced thermal conductivity in the active layer. This phenomenon is responsible for the degradation of device performance. Hence, different performance trends, such as broadband emission and spectrum stability were studied with pulse and continuous electrical pumping. The tested comb laser is found to be an attractive solution for several applications but requires further experiments in order to be considered for photonic intergraded circuits and to support next generation computer-communications.

The means of communication in oceanic environments is currently dominated by sonar. Although it is reliable for long-distance transmission, the vision of internet of underwater things (IoUT) requires an alternate means for high-data-rate transmission. It is also envisaged that a networked underwater and above-water objects, such as sensor nodes, and autonomous underwater vehicles will benefit seafloor exploration. The use of laser-based optical communication is poised to realize this dream while working hand-in-hand with acoustic and radio-frequency technologies from the littoral zone to deep blue sea. While blue and green lasers are typically utilized depending on the optical properties of the water, laser-based white light is attractive in a number of aspects. In this thesis, we proposed and realized the use of white light to model the channel and to provide the immediate decision for the preferred system configuration, which is critical for developing reliable communication links, particularly, in the presence of turbulence, which makes the alignment of underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) links challenging. Temperature and salinity changes are among factors that change the refraction index, giving rise to beam wander. This thesis explores the dependence of underwater turbulence on the wavelength. After comparing the performance of red, green, and blue lasers, an ultra-fast comprehensive method that utilizes a white-light source that can produce a wide range of wavelengths is implemented. Experimental results show an 80%-decrease in the scintillation index as the wavelength is increased from 480 to 680 nm in weak turbulence caused by a 0.02-℃/cm temperature gradient with a 40-ppt salt concentration, which emulates conditions found in the Red Sea. The effect of turbulence on the bit error ratio (BER) is also investigated experimentally. Temperature gradients increased the BER especially for shorter wavelengths. The results along long-transmission distances were verified using Monte Carlo simulations. The correlation matrix between wavelengths was studied, which is important for designing multiple-input multiple-output systems. The results obtained show that as the difference in the wavelengths increases, the correlation decreases. Based on the interplay among scintillations, scattering, absorption, and the correlation between different wavelengths, it is possible to design a more reliable UWOC link.

Les lasers femtosecondes à modes bloqués révèlent une structure spectrale de peigne de fréquence, couvrant plusieurs dizaines de THz. Mon travail de thèse s'est concentré sur l'étude et la mise en place d'un dispositif optique couplant le peigne laser dans une cavité optique. Le peigne et les résonances de cavités y sont délibérément désaccordés à la manière d'un Vernier, faisant apparaitre dans la transmission spectrale de la cavité un Moiré de fréquence dont la périodicité est inversement proportionnelle à ce désaccord. La première partie présente un formalisme permettant une compréhension fine de ce couplage et identifiant deux régimes en filtrages dits de «haute» résolution, où la structure de peigne est entièrement résolue, et de «basse» résolution où la résolution est donnée par le désaccord. La seconde partie décrit la réalisation expérimentale de ce couplage, détaillant la stratégie d'asservissement employée afin de stabiliser les résonances de la cavité (F=3000) par rapport au peigne laser au kHz. Enfin, ce couplage est appliqué à la spectroscopie moléculaire. Les spectres mesurés de l'air ambiant, dans des temps d'acquisition d'une seconde, exploitent l'intégralité du spectre du laser, soit 40THz (750 850nm), avec une résolution de 2GHz. La sensibilité en absorption atteint 10−9 /cm après moyenne. Cette haute sensibilité résulte d'une immunité aux bruits de conversion fréquence-Amplitude du couplage Vernier «basse» résolution et permet l'obtention d'un rapport signal sur bruit supérieur à 104. Ces performances conduisent à établir une figure de mérite de 4 × 10−11 cm−1/ √ Hz, plaçant ce résultat au troisième rang de l'état de l'art international / Femtosecond mode-Locked lasers are generators of optical frequency ‘combs’, whose distinct frequencies cover many tens or hundreds of THz. My PhD work has focused on the study and construction of a particular coupling scheme in an optical cavity, named Vernier coupling. Here, the laser comb and the cavity resonances are deliberately mismatched, as a Vernier rule. This creates Moiré pattern in the cavity spectral transmission, with a periodicity related to the inverse of the mismatch. The first part details the theory behind the coupling of laser and optical cavity modes. Two regimes are identified, called “high” resolution Vernier filtering, when the laser comb structure is probed mode by mode, and “low” resolution filtering where the linewidth of one Vernier order is given by the mismatch. The second part describes the experimental realization of this coupling scheme. It details the locking strategy used to control the resonance position of the cavity (F=3000) in regards of the laser comb (kHz scale). Finally, I present spectra recorded with this setup, focusing on molecular spectroscopy. The spectra of ambient air are recorded in acquisition times around 1 s, that cover the full bandwidth of the femtosecond laser ( 40 THz, 750-850 nm), at 2 GHz resolution. The sensitivity of the absorption measurement reaches 10−9 /cm, with averaging. This high sensitivity comes from an immunity to the frequency-To-Amplitude noise conversion of the “low” resolution Vernier coupling, leading to a signal to noise ratio better than 104. These performances give the spectrometer figure of merit of 4×10−11 cm−1/√ Hz, currently taking third place in rank international state of the art ranking

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Le travail présenté dans cette thèse repose sur l'expertise du groupe VeCSEL du l'Institut d'Électronique de Sud (IES) dans la conception, la réalisation et l'étude des VeCSEL dans le proche et le moyen infrarouge. Avant de s'engager dans le travail présenté ici, les VeCSELs développés au sein de notre laboratoire concernaient l'habituel fonctionnement monofréquence avec un faisceau TEM00, mais repoussé à forte puissance et à haute cohérence. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'aller au delà de cet état conventionnel, et explore d'autres états cohérents du photon, inhabituels dans le domaine de l'émission laser. Ces nouveaux états concernent aussi bien l'aspect transverse (spatial) que longitudinal (temporel) de l'onde. Plus particulièrement, l'émission laser de haute cohérence et de forte puissance sur les modes d'ordre supérieur Laguerre-Gauss dégénérés et non-dégénérés (vortex optiques), et les lasers large bande cohérents appelé aussi «~laser sans mode~». / The work presented in this thesis is based on the expertise of the VECSEL group of the Institut d'Électronique de Sud (IES) in the design, implementation and study of VECSEL in the near and mid infrared. Before engaging in the work presented here, the VeCSELs developed in our laboratory involved the usual single-frequency operation with a TEM 00 beam, but pushed to high power and high coherence. The objective of this thesis is to go beyond this conventional state and to explore other coherent states of the photon, unusual in the field of laser emission. These new states apply to both the transverse appearance (spatial) and longitudinal (time) of the wave. More specifically, the laser emission of high power and high coherence on the Laguerre-Gauss higher order modes degenerate and non-degenerate (optical vortex), and the wide band coherent lasers also called "modeless lasers".