Ultra-compact room temperature rapidly tunable infrared sources
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorSung-Joo Ben Yoo
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Abstract
An ultra-compact, room-temperature, continuous-wave infrared source that can rapidly tune over a very wide spectral range. The targeted spectral overages are 3 μm to 4 μm, 4 μm to 6 μm, 6 μm to 8 μm, and 8 μm to 12 μm. The spectral width of the infrared idler is expected to be ˜10 MHz. In particular, the invention is a monolithically integrated device which requires no external pump lasers or bulk optics for its operation. The invention uses difference-frequency-generation in a highly nonlinear optical semiconductor waveguide with which high power semiconductor lasers are integrated to internally provide the tunable pump and signal waves.
Claims85
A non-linear optical semiconductor waveguide comprising a plurality of optical semiconductor waveguide segments having alternating crystal orientation.
A non-linear optical semiconductor waveguide comprising a plurality of periodic domain inverted semiconductor waveguide segments.
An infrared source, comprising:
- (a) a signal laser;
- (b) a pump laser;
- and
- (c) a non-linear optical semiconductor waveguide comprising a plurality of optical semiconductor waveguide segments having alternating crystal orientation coupled to said signal and pump lasers.
A tunable infrared source, comprising:
- (a) a signal laser;
- (b) a pump laser;
- and
- (c) a non-linear optical semiconductor waveguide comprising a plurality of optical semiconductor waveguide segments having alternating crystal orientation coupled to said signal and pump lasers;
- (d) wherein at least one of said lasers is tunable.
A method for fabricating an infrared source, comprising forming a plurality of optical semiconductor waveguide segments having alternating crystal orientation on a crystalline substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.