Modulation Dynamics of Inp-Based Quantum Dot Lasers and Quantum Cascade Lasers Cheng Wang
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Modulation dynamics of InP-based quantum dot lasers and quantum cascade lasers Cheng Wang To cite this version: Cheng Wang. Modulation dynamics of InP-based quantum dot lasers and quantum cascade lasers. Optics [physics.optics]. INSA de Rennes, 2015. English. NNT : 2015ISAR0009. tel-01161855 HAL Id: tel-01161855 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01161855 Submitted on 9 Jun 2015 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Thèse THESE INSA Rennes présentée par sous le sceau de l’Université européenne de Bretagne pour obtenir le titre de Cheng WANG DOCTEUR DE L’INSA DE RENNES ECOLE DOCTORALE : SDLM Spécialité : Physique optoélectronique LABORATOIRE : FOTON Thèse soutenue le 17.03.2015 Modulation Dynamics of devant le jury composé de : InP-Based Didier Erasme Professeur, Télécom ParisTech / Président Marc Sciamanna Quantum Dot Lasers and Professeur, Supélec / Rapporteur Guang-Hua Duan Quantum Cascade Lasers Directeur de Recherche / HDR, III-V Lab / Rapporteur Marek Osiński Professor, University of New Mexico / Examinateur Mariangela Gioannini Associate Professor HDR, Politecnico di Torino / Examinateur Kathy Lüdge Associate Professor HDR, Technische Universität Berlin / Examinateur Frédéric Grillot Maitre de conférences / HDR, Télécom ParisTech / Co-Directeur de thèse Jacky Even Professeur, INSA de Rennes / Co-Directeur de thèse Modulation Dynamics of InP-Based Quantum Dot Lasers and Quantum Cascade Lasers Cheng Wang En partenariat avec To my parents and Leming Acknowledgements Here I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors, Dr. Frédéric Grillot and Professor Jacky Even, for their excellent guidance and support throughout my Ph.D. study. I have learned a lot from their profound knowledge, professional approach, and rigorous attitude towards scientific research. I thank them for supporting me on international mobilities and conferences, which helped me to catch the latest and hottest research topics and advances, as well as to build the social networks in the scientific society. The great experience with them will benefit a lot to my future career. I would like to thank Dr. Kathy Lüdge and Professor Eckehard Schöll from Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, as well as Dr. Mariangela Gioannini and Professor Ivo Montrosset from Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy for hosting me in their renowned groups. Their deep insights in optoelectronics impressed me a lot. I gained a lot from the collision of disparate ideas under their kind guidance on my research work. I appreciate all our collaborators Professor Didier Erasme from Télécom ParisTech, France, Professor Alain Le Corre and Dr. Thomas Batte from INSA de Rennes, France, Professor Vassilios I. Kovanis from the Air Force Research Laboratory, USA, Professor Marek Osiński from University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA, Dr. Jean-Guy Provost and Dr. Guang-Hua Duan from III-V Lab, France, Dr. Philip Poole from the National Research Council, Canada, Prof. Marc Sciamanna from Supélec, France, Prof. Fan-Yi Lin from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Prof. Sheng- Kwang Hwang from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, Dr. Nelson Sze-Chun Chan from City University of Hong Kong, Dr. Joshua D. Bodyfelt from Ohio State University, Columbus, USA, Dr. Paolo Bardella from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, Dr. Schires Kévin from Télécom Paristech, France, Dr. Christian Otto and Benjamin Lingnau from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, Dr. Martin Virte from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium and Supélec, France, and Dr. Ivan Aldaya from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico for helpful scientific discussions. I would like to thank all the professors, all the colleagues and all my friends from GTO group, Télécom ParisTech, and from FOTON lab, INSA de Rennes, who leads me a colorful life in France. I acknowledge the China Scholarship Council for funding my Ph.D. work. Last but not least, I am highly grateful to my parents for their persistent support and encouragement. My special thank to Leming, for her help on the thesis manuscript and the defense slides, as well as her love, understanding and support. I Abstract High performance semiconductor lasers are strongly demanded in the rapidly increasing optical communication networks. Low-dimensional nanostructure lasers are expected to be substitutes of their quantum well (Qwell) counterparts in the next-generation telecommunication optical links. Many efforts have been devoted during the past years to achieve nanostructure lasers with broad modulation bandwidth, low frequency chirp, and near- zero linewidth enhancement factor. Particularly, 1.55-µm InP-based quantum dash (Qdash)/ dot (Qdot) lasers are preferable for long-haul transmission in contrast to the 1.3-µm laser sources. In the first part of this dissertation, we investigate the dynamic characteristics of InP-based quantum dot semiconductor lasers operating under direct current modulation, including the amplitude (AM) and frequency (FM) modulation responses, the linewidth enhancement factor (also known as α-factor), as well as large-signal modulation response. Through the rate equation analysis of the AM response in a semi-analytical approach, it is found that the modulation bandwidth of the quantum dot laser is strongly limited by the finite carrier capture and relaxation rates, and the latter is also responsible for the large damping factor. In order to study the α-factor and chirp properties of the quantum dot laser, we develop an improved rate equation model, which takes into account the contribution of carrier populations in off-resonant states to the refractive index change. It is demonstrated that the α-factor of quantum dot lasers is strongly dependent on the pump current as well as the modulation frequency, in comparison to the case of Qwell lasers. We point out that the α-factor remains constant at low modulation frequencies (<0.1 GHz) and is consistent with that operating under DC condition. The values are higher than that at high modulation frequencies (beyond several GHz) obtained from the FM/AM technique. These features are mostly attributed to the carrier populations in off-resonant states. Further simulations show that the α-factor can be reduced by enlarging the energy separation between the resonant ground state (GS) and off-resonant states, or by enhancing the carrier scattering rates. Instead of GS emission in quantum dot lasers, lasing from the excited state (ES) can be a promising alternative to enhance the laser’s dynamic performance. Calculations show that the ES laser exhibits a broader modulation response associated with a much lower frequency chirping in comparison with the GS emission laser. In addition, the α-factor of the quantum dot laser can be reduced by as much as 40% in the ES lasing operation. On the other hand, optical injection technique is attractive to improve the laser’s dynamical performance, including bandwidth enhancement and chirp reduction. These are demonstrated II both theoretically and experimentally. The phase-amplitude coupling property is altered as well in comparison with the free-running laser. Another important feature of optical injection is that it tunes the optical gain depending on the injection strength and the frequency detuning. Using this feature, we propose an improved Hakki-Paoli method--- Optical Injection-Hakki-Paoli method--- which is capable of measuring the α-factor of semiconductor lasers both below and above threshold. On the other hand, we theoretically demonstrate that the α-factor in nanostructure lasers exhibits a threshold discontinuity, which restrains its reduction towards zero. This is mainly attributed to the unclamped carrier populations in the off-resonant states. Quantum cascade (QC) lasers rely on intersubband electronic transitions in the conduction band of multi-quantum well heterostructures. They find applications in the mid- and far-infrared spectral regions, such as gas spectroscopy or free-space optical communication. Interestingly, QC lasers show flat and broadband AM response (tens of GHz) without resonance. Surprisingly, calculations show that the QC lasers exhibit an ultrabroad FM bandwidth on the order of tens of THz, which is three orders of magnitude larger than the AM bandwidth. Optically injection- locked QC lasers also exhibit specific characteristics by comparison to interband semiconductor lasers. Both positive and negative frequency detunings enhance the modulation bandwidth and raise a peak in the modulation response. III List of abbreviations Abbreviation Phrase AFM Atomic force microscopy AM Amplitude modulation ASE Amplified spontaneous emission α-factor Linewidth enhancement factor BER Bit error rate BT Bogdanor-Takens CBE Chemical beam epitaxy CDP Carrier density pulsation CH Carrier heating CPR Chirp-to-power ratio CW Continuous wave DC Direct current DFB Distributed feedback DH Double heterostructure DM Directly modulated EA Electro-absorption EL Electroluminescence EO Electro-optical ES Excited state