Introduction To Semiconductor Lasers For Optical Communications

This updated, second edition textbook provides a thorough and accessible treatment of semiconductor lasers from a design and engineering perspective. It includes both the physics of devices as well as the engineering, designing and testing of practical lasers. The material is presented clearly with many examples provided. Readers of the book will come to understand the finer aspects of the theory, design, fabrication and test of these devices and have an excellent background for further study of optoelectronics.

Even in optical communications, lasers are used in different ways, from metropolitan links using directly modulated devices to 100 Gb/s transmission systems incorporating advanced detection and modulation schemes. In this book, I introduce semiconductor lasers from an operational perspective to those who have a background in engineering or optics, but no familiarity with lasers. The objective here is to present semiconductor lasers in a way that is both accessible and interesting to advanced undergraduate students and to first-year graduate students. The target audience for this book is someone who is potentially interested in careers in semiconductor lasers, and the decision of what topic to cover is driven both by the importance of the topic and how fundamental it is to the whole field.

Ranging from fundamental theoretical concepts to advanced device technologies, this reference/text explores the engineering, characteristics, and performance of specific semiconductor lasers. It defines key principles in electromagnetics, optoelectronics, and laser implementation for novel applications in optical communications, storage, processing

Concentrating on presenting a thorough analysis of DFB lasers from a level suitable for research students, this book emphasises and gives extensive coverage of computer aided modeling techniques.

Starting with an introduction to the fundamental physics in chaotic instabilities in laser systems, this comprehensive and unified reference goes on to present the techniques and technology of synchronization of chaos in coupled lasers, as well as the many applications to lasers and optics, communications, security and information technology. Throughout, it presents the current state of knowledge, including encoding/decoding techniques, performance of chaotic communication systems, random number generation, and novel communication technologies.

This book describes the fascinating recent advances made concerning the chaos, stability and instability of semiconductor lasers, and discusses their applications and future prospects in detail. It emphasizes the dynamics in semiconductor lasers by optical and electronic feedback, optical injection, and injection current modulation. Applications of semiconductor laser chaos, control and noise, and semiconductor lasers are also demonstrated. Semiconductor lasers with new structures, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and broad-area semiconductor lasers, are intriguing and promising devices. Current topics include fast physical number generation using chaotic semiconductor lasers for secure communication, development of chaos, quantum-dot semiconductor lasers and quantum-cascade semiconductor lasers, and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. This fourth edition has been significantly expanded to reflect the latest developments. The fundamental theory of laser chaos and the chaotic dynamics in semiconductor lasers are discussed, but also for example the method of self-mixing interferometry in quantum-cascade lasers, which is indispensable in practical applications. Further, this edition covers chaos synchronization between two lasers and the application to secure optical communications. Another new topic is the consistency and synchronization property of many coupled semiconductor lasers in connection with the analogy of the dynamics between synaptic neurons and chaotic semiconductor lasers, which are compatible nonlinear dynamic elements. In particular, zero-lag synchronization between distant neurons plays a crucial role for information processing in the brain. Lastly, the book presents an application of the consistency and synchronization property in chaotic semiconductor lasers, namely a type of neuro-inspired information processing referred to as reservoir computing.

This book systematically introduces the single frequency semiconductor laser, which is widely used in many vital advanced technologies, such as the laser cooling of atoms and atomic clock, high-precision measurements and spectroscopy, coherent optical communications, and advanced optical sensors. It presents both the fundamentals and characteristics of semiconductor lasers, including basic F-P structure and monolithic integrated structures; interprets laser noises and their measurements; and explains mechanisms and technologies relating to the main aspects of single frequency lasers, including external cavity lasers, frequency stabilization technologies, frequency sweeping, optical phase locked loops, and so on. It paints a clear, physical picture of related technologies and reviews new developments in the field as well. It will be a useful reference to graduate students, researchers, and engineers in the field.

This book covers the device physics of semiconductor lasers in five chapters written by recognized experts in this field. The volume begins by introducing the basic mechanisms of optical gain in semiconductors and the role of quantum confinement in modern quantum well diode lasers. Subsequent chapters treat the effects of built-in strain, one of the important recent advances in the technology of these lasers, and the physical mechanisms underlying the dynamics and high speed modulation of these devices. The book concludes with chapters addressing the control of photon states in squeezed-light and microcavity structures, and electron states in low dimensional quantum wire and quantum dot lasers. The book offers useful information for both readers unfamiliar with semiconductor lasers, through the introductory parts of each chapter, as well as a state-of-the-art discussion of some of the most advanced semiconductor laser structures, intended for readers engaged in research in this field. This book may also serve as an introduction for the companion volume, Semiconductor Lasers II: Materials and Structures, which presents further details on the different material systems and laser structures used for achieving specific diode laser performance features. Introduces the reader to the basics of semiconductor lasers Covers the fundamentals of lasing in semiconductors, including quantum confined and microcavity structures Beneficial to readers interested in the more general aspects of semiconductor physics and optoelectronic devices, such as quantum confined heterostructures and integrated optics Each chapter contains a thorough introduction to the topic geared toward the non-expert, followed by an in-depth discussion of current technology and future trends Useful for professionals engaged in research and development Contains numerous schematic and data-containing illustrations