Analysis and characterization of slab-coupled optical waveguide amplifiers and lasers

Abstract

Semiconductor optical devices are important in the photonics industry due to their significant advantages in size, weight, and power consumption (SWAP) and to their capability for photonic integration. However, these devices traditionally suffer from low fiber coupling efficiency and have been limited to relatively low power applications. This thesis explores the potential of the slab-coupled optical waveguide (SCOW) semiconductor gain medium for use in high power optical amplifiers and external cavity lasers. The thesis begins by introducing the SCOW concept and describing the benefits of utilizing a low optical confinement design for high power operation. Detailed analysis and measurements of the output power, gain, and noise properties of slab-coupled optical waveguide amplifiers (SCOWAs) and slab-coupled optical waveguide external cavity lasers (SCOWECLs) are also presented. It will be shown that these devices not only exhibit Watt class output power with high coupling efficiency (> 90 %) but also demonstrate the capability for low noise operation.