This project successfully designed, fabricated and characterized two highly reflective distributed Bragg reflectors for use with long wavelength vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. The first reflector consisted of 20 pairs of alternating lnP/Ino.64Gao.36Aso.777Po.223 layers grown on an InP substrate with a theoretically predicted normal incident reflectivity of 96.6% at a center wavelength of 1550nm. The second DBR had 20 pairs of alternating GaAs/Ino.484Gao.5i6P layers grown on a GaAs substrate with a theoretically predicted reflectivity of 94.9% at a center wavelength of 1550nm for normal incident light. Experimental results obtained using a specially designed reflectivity measurement setup confirmed reflectivity models and predictions at both normal and variable incident light angles. However, these measurements revealed a discrepancy between theoretical and experimental layer thickness values for both DBR structures. Applying perturbations to the theoretical models, the actual layer thicknesses ofthe DBRs were determined. X-ray analysis was employed to examine the periodicity of the super-lattices along with the accuracy of lattice matching to the substrate. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that no detectable drift in layer thickness was apparent during growth of the DBR structures. Photoluminescence was used to investigate any compositional variations ofthe quaternary layers in the first DBR stack. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

A dual-wavelength mode-locked semiconductor vertical-external-cavity-surface-emitting laser is demonstrated. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror allows for simultaneous mode locking of pulses centered at two center wavelengths with variable frequency spacing. The difference-frequency control is achieved with an intracavity etalon. Changing the finesse of the etalon enables the adjustment of the pulse duration between 6 and 35 ps. The emitted two-color pulses are modulated by a beat frequency in the terahertz range. Self-starting mode-locking with 0.8-W average output power is demonstrated.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第18283号 / 工博第3875号 / 新制||工||1594(附属図書館) / 31141 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科電子工学専攻 / (主査)教授 野田 進, 教授 川上 養一, 教授 藤田 静雄 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

This project successfully designed, fabricated and characterized two highly reflective distributed Bragg reflectors for use with long wavelength vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. The first reflector consisted of 20 pairs of alternating lnP/Ino.64Gao.36Aso.777Po.223 layers grown on an InP substrate with a theoretically predicted normal incident reflectivity of 96.6% at a center wavelength of 1550nm. The second DBR had 20 pairs of alternating GaAs/Ino.484Gao.5i6P layers grown on a GaAs substrate with a theoretically predicted reflectivity of 94.9% at a center wavelength of 1550nm for normal incident light. Experimental results obtained using a specially designed reflectivity measurement setup confirmed reflectivity models and predictions at both normal and variable incident light angles. However, these measurements revealed a discrepancy between theoretical and experimental layer thickness values for both DBR structures. Applying perturbations to the theoretical models, the actual layer thicknesses of the DBRs were determined. X-ray analysis was employed to examine the periodicity of the super-lattices along with the accuracy of lattice matching to the substrate. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that no detectable drift in layer thickness was apparent during growth of the DBR structures. Photoluminescence was used to investigate any compositional variations of the quaternary layers in the first DBR stack. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

This dissertation has three parts which are distinctive from the perspective of their frequency regime of operation and from the nature of their contributions to the science and engineering communities. The first part describes work that was conducted on a vertical-external-cavity surface emitting-laser (VECSEL) in the optical frequency regime. We designed, fabricated, and tested a hybrid distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirror for a VECSEL sub-cavity operating at the laser emission wavelength of 1057 nm. The DBR mirror was terminated with a highly reflecting gold surface and integrated with an engineered pattern of titanium. This hybrid mirror achieved a reduction in half of the number of DBR layer pairs in comparison to a previously reported, successful VECSEL chip. Moreover, the output power of our VECSEL chip was measured to be beyond 4.0Wwith an optical-to-optical efficiency of 19.4%. Excellent power output stability was demonstrated; a steady 1.0 W output at 15.0 W pump power was measured for over an hour. The second part reports on an ultrafast in situ pump-probing of the nonequlibrium dynamics of the gain medium of a VECSEL under mode-locked conditions. We proposed and successfully tested a novel approach to measure the response of the inverted carriers in the active region of a VECSEL device while it was operating under passively mode-locked conditions. We employed the dual-frequency-comb spectroscopy (DFCS) technique using an asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) method based on modified time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) to measure the nonequilibrium dynamics of the gain medium of a phase-locked VECSEL that we designed and fabricated to operate at the1030 nm emission wavelength. Our spectroscopic studies used a probe pulse of 100 fs and an in situ pump pulse of 13 ps. We probed the gain medium of the VECSEL and recorded a depletion time of 13 ps, a fast recovery period of 17 ps, and 110 ps for the slow recovery time. Our scans thus demonstrated a 140 ps full depletion-recovery cycle in the nonequilibrium state. The third part discusses work in the microwave and millimeter wave frequency regimes. A new method to fabricate Luneburg lenses was proposed and demonstrated. This type of lens is well known; it is versatile and has been used for many applications, including high power radars, satellite communications, and remote sensing systems. Because the fabrication of such a lens requires intricate and time consuming processes, we demonstrated the design, fabrication and testing of a Luneburg lens prototype using a 3-D printing rapid prototyping technique both at the X and Ka-V frequency bands. The measured results were in very good agreement with their simulated values. The fabricated X-band lens had a 12 cm diameter and produced a beam having a maximum gain of 20 dB and a beam directivity (half-power beam width (HPBW)) ranging from 12° to 19°). The corresponding Ka-V band lens had a 7 cm diameter; it produced a beam with a HPBW about the same as the X-band lens, but with a maximum gain of more than 20 dB.

Les Structures localisées (SLs) apparaissent dans les milieux dissipatifs nonlinéaires ayant un grand rapport d'aspect et où plusieurs solutions coexistent pour la même gamme de paramètres. Elles ont des longueurs de corrélations bien plus courtes que la taille du système ce qui en fait des objets individuellement adressables. Les SLs ont été largement étudiées dans les résonateurs optiques pour leur potentiel dans le traitement tout-optique d'information. Nous focalisons nos recherches sur les structures localisées temporelles obtenues dans un laser à blocage de modes passif. Il s'agit, plus spécifiquement, d'un laser à Cavite Verticale Émettant par la Surface (VCSEL) monté dans une cavité externe délimitée par un Miroir Semiconducteur à Absorption Saturable (SESAM). Nous montrons que les pulses émis par ce système peuvent être individuellement allumés et éteints par le biais d'impulsions électriques dans le courant de pompage. Nous étudions la possibilité de déplacer ces pulses l'un par rapport à l'autre et/ou de reconfigurer leur disposition dans la cavité à l'aide d'une modulation du paramètre de pompage. Ceci nous a permis de découvrir un nouveau paradigme pour la dynamique pour les SLs, jusqu'ici étudiées seulement dans les systèmes à symétrie de parité (systèmes spatiaux et résonateurs à Fibre de (type Kerr). En effet, dans notre système, le temps de réponse fini du milieu semiconducteur introduit la causalité dans la cavité, brisant ainsi la symétrie de parité du système. Ceci a des conséquences très importantes sur la vitesse de propagation des SLs, sur leurs formes et sur leurs interactions. Dans la partie finale de ma thèse, inspiré par le résultat obtenu dans ce système, je m'intéresser à l'implémentationdes SLs spatio-temporelle, aussi appelées Balles de Lumière (BLs). En effet, une version similaire de ce système a servi pour implémenter des SLs dans la section transverse du résonateur, ce qui en fait un bon candidat pour générer des BLs. Nous étudions donc les modifications à apporter pour atteindre ces structures. Les indications obtenues ont suggéré de remplacer le VCSEL par un dispositif similaire mais incapable de laser sans un miroir externe. Ce dispositif, appelé demi-VCSEL ou VECSEL et son SESAM compatible ont été fabriqués par l'Institut d'Electronique et des Systèmes de Montpellier. L'optimisation des caractéristiques de ces dispositifs permet d'atteindre le régime de localisation temporelle, ce qui est un résultat prometteur vers les Balles de Lumière. / Localized Structures (LS) appear in non-linear dissipative mediums with a large aspect ratio and where several solutions coexist for the same range of parameters. They have a correlation length much shorter than the size of the system which makes them individually addressable objects. LS have been widely studied in optical resonators for their potential in all-optic informations processing. We focus our study on Temporal Localized Structures in a Passive Mode-Locked Laser. More specifically, we study a Vertical Cavity SurfaceEmitting Laser (VCSEL) coupled in an external cavity with a Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror (SESAM). We show that pulses emitted by this system can be individually turned on and off using electrical pulses in the bias current. We study the possibility to move those pulses and/or to reconfigure their positions in the cavity thanks to a modulation of the bias current. We were able to discover a new paradigm for the dynamics of LS, studied until now only in system with parity symmetry (spatial system et Kerr fiber resonator). Indeed, in our system, the finite response time of the semiconductor medium brings causality in the cavity, and so breaks the parity symmetry of the system. This fact has important consequences on the LS drifting speed, on their shapes and their interactions. In the last part of my thesis, inspired by the results we obtain in this system, we focus on the implementation of spatio-temporal LS, also called Light Bullet (LB). Indeed, a similar system was used to implement LS in the transverse section of the resonator, so it can be a good candidate to generate LB. So we study the modification needed to obtain those structures. The results suggested to replace the VCESL by a similar device but that can't lase without external mirror. This device, called half-VCSEL or VECSEL, and its compatible SESAM, were design the Institut d'Electronique et des Systèmes of Montpellier. The optimization of the characteristic of those devices allows to get a regime of temporal localization, which is a promising towards the Light Bullets.