Work

Numerical study of wavelength-swept semiconductor ring lasers: the role of refractive-index nonlinearities in semiconductor optical amplifiers and implications for biomedical imaging applications

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: Recent results have demonstrated unprecedented wavelength-tuning speed and repetition rate performance of semiconductor ring lasers incorporating scanning filters. However, several unique operational characteristics of these lasers have not been adequately explained, and the lack of an accurate model has hindered optimization. We numerically investigated the characteristics of these sources, using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) traveling-wave Langevin model, and found good agreement with experimental measurements. In particular, we explored the role of the SOA refractive-index nonlinearities in determining the intracavity frequency-shift-broadening and the emitted power dependence on scan speed and direction. Our model predicts both continuous-wave and pulse operation and shows a universal relationship between the output power of lasers that have different cavity lengths and the filter peak frequency shift per round trip, therefore revealing the advantage of short cavities for high-speed biomedical imaging.

Source: Optics Letters

DOI: 10.1364/ol.31.000760

Authors: A. Bilenca, S. H. Yun, G. J. Tearney, B. E. Bouma

Institutions: Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute

Awards: G1545476000, Natural History of Vulnerable Coronary Plaques