Fiber Optic Communication

Semiconductor Laser
Lecture 12

Electrical Engineering Department San Jose State University

Khosrow Ghadiri

Principle of LASER diode

LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser diodes are, like LEDs, direct bandgap pn-junction used under forward bias. Laser diodes are devices emitting coherent light produced in the stimulated emission process whereas LEDs under injection excitement emit light produced in spontaneous emission process. Laser lasing wavelength ranges from the visible to the infrared wavelength depending on the material of the active layer. In the 850 nm-band AlGaAs/GaAs and in the 1300/1550 nm-bands InGaAsP/InP material system are commonly used in fiber optic communication. AlGaAs/AlGaAs, and group-III nitride are used in the visible wavelength. Laser diodes composed of III-V compound semiconductor and as well as some II II-VI VI compound are used in visible wavelength.
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History
The first semiconductor laser were reported by R.N. R N Hall et al. al from General Electric research laboratory and Marshal I. Nathan et al. from IBM, Thomas J. Watson Research Center based on GaAs pn junction in 1962. Continuous-wave (CW) ( ) lasing l at room temperature was achieved h d in an AlGaAs/GaAs double-heterostructure laser in 1970. I. Hayashi et al. Junction lasers which operates continuously at room temperature, Appl. Phys. Lett., 17, 109, 1970. Zh. I. Alferov, et al. Investigation of the influence of the AlAs-GaAs heterostructure parameters on the laser threshold current and the realization of continuous emission at room temperature, Sov. Phys, S Semicond. i d 4, 4 1573, 1573 1971. 1971

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Laser safety
Laser safety

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Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Laser safety ANSI standards

American National Standard Institute Laser safety classification: Class 1: Inherently safe. No viewing hazard during normal use or maintenance No control or label requirements (typically 0.4 0 4 microwatts or less output power) Class 1M: Inherently safe if not view through collecting optics. Designed to allow for arrays of optical sources which may be viewed at the same time. Class 2: Normal human eye blink response or aversion response is sufficient to protect the user. Low power visible laser (<1 mW continuous operation). In pulsed operation, waning labels are required if power levels exceed the class 1 acceptable exposure duration, but do not exceed class 1 limits for a 0.25 second exposure. p
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Laser safety ANSI standards

American National Standard Institute Laser safety classification: Class 2A: Warning labels are required. Low power visible laser that do not exceed class 1 acceptable limits for 1000 seconds or less and system which are not designed for intentional viewing of the beam. Class 3A: Normal human eye blink response or aversion response is sufficient to p protect the user, , unless laser is viewed through g collecting optics. Requires warning labels, enclosure/interlocks on the system, and warning signs at room entrance where the laser is housed. Typically 1-5 mW power. Class 3B: Direct viewing is hazard, and specular reflections may pose a hazard. Same warning label requirements as class 3A plus power actuated t t d warning i li ht when light h l laser i in is i operation. ti
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Laser safety ANSI standards

American National Standard Institute Laser safety classification: Class 3B: continuation Typically 5-500 mW continuous output power, <10 joules per square centimeter pulsed operation for <0.25second. Class 4: Direct viewing is hazard, and specular or diffuse reflections may pose a hazard. Skin protection and fire protection are concerns. Same warning label requirements as class 3B plus a locked door, door actuated power kill switch or door actuated optical filter, Shutter, or equivalent. Typically >500 mW continuous output power, >10 joules per square centimeter pulsed operation.

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Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Safety goggle
Safety goggle is categorized by wavelength and maximum power

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Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Periodic table of elements

.

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Simplified orbital model of many electron atoms

Bohrs Bohr s model

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Carrier concentration and bandgap

Bandgap width

T 2 Eg = Ego + +T
32 Eg 2 kT

Intrinsic carrier concentration

nio ( Si ) = 7.3 7 3 1015 cm 3

Semiconductor Germanium Silicon GaAs

ni = nioT e

Eg @ 0 K (eV ) Eg @ 300 K (eV )

0.7437 1.170 1.519 0.66 1.12 1.42

(eV / K )
4 .7 7 4 1 0 4 4.73 10 4

(K )
235 636 204

5.405 10 4

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Comparison of Three Statistical Distribution

r

Maxwell MaxwellBoltzmann Identical but distinguishable particles Classical Ideal gas at thermal equilibrium

Bose-Einstein Bose Einstein

Fermi-Dirac Fermi Dirac

Particle system

Identical indistinguishable particles with integer spin Bosons Photons in a cavity. Photons in a solid

Identical indistinguishable particles with half-integer spin

Particles Examples

Fermions Electrons in a metal. Conduction in semiconductors.

Distribution function Obeying Pauli Exclusion principal Properties of distribution

F() = (Ae/kT) -1 No No limit to how many particles can occupy a given quantum state

F() = ( Ae/kT -1) -1 No No limit to how many particles can occupy a given quantum state

F() = ( Ae/kT +1) -1 Yes Never be more than one particle in any quantum state 12

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Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Laser
Gas die, Gas, die and semiconductor lasers

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Laser wavelength
Laser wavelength range in visible and infrared regions

Loss dB
0.85
1.30

1.55

( m)

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Laser
Photon energy:

E photon = Eg = hf
hc 1.24 = = Eg Eg

The radiated wavelength:

The optic power output when gap energy is in joule:

P = NEg =

Eg
q

Where N is the number of charge per second:

N=

The optic power output when gap energy is in eV:

i q

P = iEg
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Bandgap engineering
Ternary alloys: for example GaAs laser doped with Al cover the
wavelength range from 850 nm to 780 nm with increasing x

AlX Ga Cd
1-X

1-X

As

MnXTe
1-X 1-X

GaAS GaXIn Hg

1-X

PX As

CdXTe

Quaternary alloys: GaAs doped with In and P cover the wavelength range from 900 nm to 1670 nm with increasing x and y

GaX In1-X As1-Y PY AlX Ga1 1-X X AsY Sb1 1-Y Y

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Laser power range

Laser power ranges: Continuous wave power: ~1 mW for communications, data storage, laser pointers 100kW for machining to ~100kW to ~5MW for military Pulsed power: 15 to ~10 W Pulse length as short as ~5 fsec Cavity length ~1 m for VCSEL to 6.5 km

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Principle of laser diode

Semiconductor laser commonly used in fiber optic communication because: Long life High reliability Ruggedness Compactness Light weight High efficiency of electrooptric conversion Low applied voltage Spectral purity compared to non laser source. source Direct modulation capability up to tens of gigahertz.

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The gas laser

The gas laser

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The gas laser

The gas laser

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Laser bench
Laser bench

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Laser diodes
Laser diodes

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Principle of LASER diode

In degenerately doped pn junction, junction The Fermi level

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pn Junction diode
+
W

VF
n

VR
n

p
E

p
E

p
E

p
E

Ecp
EFp Evp

Ecn EFn
Evn

Ecp
EFp Evp

qV0

Ecp

q (V0 VF )
VF

Ecn E EFn Fp Evp Evn

Vn

Ecp Ecn EFn EFp Evp Evn

q (V0 + VR ) VR
Ecn EFn Evn

(V0 VF ) (V0 + VR )

V0

Vp
Before Contact
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Equilibrium

Forward biased

Reverse biased
24

Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Degenerate pn Junction diode

+
W

VF
n

W n

VF
n+ p+
E
n+

p
E

p
E

p+

Ecp
EFp F Evp

qV0

Ecp Ecn E EFn Fp Evp Evn

Vn

q (V0 VF )

Ecp
Evp ++++ EFp
qV0

VF

Ecn EFn Evn

Ecp
EFn EFp Ecn Evp
++++

q (V0 VF )

VF

Ecn EFn Evn

Evn
Vn

(V0 VF )
Vp

Vn

(V0 VF )
Vp

Vn

V0

V0
Vp

Vp
Equilibrium
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Forward biased

Equilibrium

Forward biased
25

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Degenerately doped pn junction

In degenerately doped pn junction, junction The Fermi level E fp in the p p-side side is in the valence band and that E fn in the n-side is in the conduction band. All the energy levels up to The degenerately direct bandgap semiconductor d pn junction such h as GaAs has h band b d diagram: d
Conduction Band
i

+
Vout

VF

Electron E Energy

hf

Free Electron Created

is

I DC

hf
p
+

hf

n
E

W8

Free Valence Band Hole Junction Created

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Digital modulation of laser diode

In the forward biased p p-n n junction laser diode, diode The potential energy barrier between the p and n regions decreases , so electron and hole flow, hence current flow.

Incident photon after passing through p-region will be absorbed in the depletion layer.
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InGaAsP laser diode structure

InGaAsP laser diode structure. structure

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LED and LD
Current flow in LED and LD
Laser diode
30 30 LED mode

Light power

25C
laser mode

0.30

15

1300 nm
P
Slope effeciency / facet, dP/dl (W/A A)

Light output po ower, P (mW)

5 mW

VOLTAG GE, V (V)

20

20

dP / dl (= s st )
V

0.20

10

0 50 mA 100 mA

10 Current

10

0.10

dV / dl (= Rs)
threshold current

ypical optical power output vs. forward current 0 0 r a LED and a laser diode. 0
999 S.O. Kasap, s p, Optoelect Optoelectronics onics ( (Prentice e ce Hall) )
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100 C Current, t l( (mA) A)

0 150

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sistance, dV/dl Differential res

10 mW

LED

()

Recombination
Recombination is the electron transition from the conduction band to fill a hole in the valence band. Recombination can be viewed as the annihilation of a negative carrier (conduction electron) and a positive carrier (hole in the valence band), band) and energy is released either as radiated photon or phonon (heat in the lattice of crystal). The electron density n ( E2 )which is the number of electrons per unit volume in energy levels between E2 and E2 + dE2 in the conduction band is given by: band,

n ( E2 ) dE2 = g c ( E2 ) f c ( E2 ) dE2

where the g c ( E2 ) is the density of states per unit energy per unit volume l i the in th conduction d ti b d at band t energy level l l E2
* me is the effective mass of electron
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*3 2 2me g c ( E2 ) = 3 2

E2 Ec

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Fermi-Dirac distribution
The Fermi Fermi-Dirac Dirac distribution function f c ( E2 )specifies the probability that the energy level E2 in the conduction band is occupied by an electron. 1

f c ( E2 ) =

( E2 E fn )

kT

+1

The and

E f is the quasi-Fermi level of electrons in the conduction Ec is the bottom edge of the conduction band.
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band

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Hole density
Similarly the hole density p ( E1 )which is the number of holes per unit volume in energy levels between E1 and E1 + dE1 in the conduction band, is given by:

p ( E1 ) dE1 = g v ( E1 ) 1 f v ( E1 ) dE1
where the g v ( E1 ) is the density of states per unit energy per unit volume in the conduction band at energy level E1
*3 2 2mh g c ( E1 ) = 3 2

Ev E1

The Fermi-Dirac distribution function f v ( E1 )specifies the probability that the energy level E1 in the valence band is occupied by an electron 1

* is the effective mass of hole mh

f v ( E1 ) =

( E1 E fp )

e
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kT

+1
32

Fiber Optics Communications EE Dept. SJSU

Hole density
The probability of the absence of electron or the presence of the hole atE1 in the valence band E1 + dE1

1 f v ( E1 ) = 1 e

1
( E1 E fp )
kT

+1

The potential energy eVF of bias voltage VF is:

eVF = E fn E fp
Gain is the difference between stimulated emission and absorption. Stimulated emission in semiconductor occurs when an incident photon h t i d induces an electron l t t make to k the th transition t iti f from conduction d ti band to the valence band and is proportional to product which is the density of electrons in the conduction band and the density of holes in the valence band.
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Photon density
Absorption is transition in the reverse direction and is proportional to the product of density of electrons in the valence band expressed by:

n ( E1 ) dE1 = g v ( E1 ) f v ( E1 ) dE1

The density of vacant states in the conduction band expressed by:

p ( E2 ) dE2 = g c ( E1 ) 1 f c ( E2 ) dE2
The net increase in the photon density S (number of photons per unit volume) by simulated emission is:

Where the stimulated transition probability is given by

dS = W n ( E2 ) p ( E1 ) n ( E1 ) p ( E2 ) dE1dE2 dt

B is Einstein Einstein's s B coefficient and Ed is the energy density of the light that is stimulating transition.
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W = BEd

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Photon density
The energy density of the light that simulating the transition is given by:

Ed = hfS

g density of the light g is: The increase in the energy

Ed is related to the light intensity I S by: I Ed = s v Where v is the velocity of light:

dEd = BhfEd n ( E2 ) p ( E1 ) n ( E1 ) p ( E2 ) dE1dE2 dt

Bhf dEd dI s dI s = = = n ( E2 ) p ( E1 ) n ( E1 ) p ( E2 ) dE1dE2 v dt stim vdt stim dz stim

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Light intensity
The net increase in the photon density S (number of photons per unit volume) by spontaneous emission is:

dS = An ( E2 ) p ( E1 )dE1dE2 dt spon

A is Einstein's A coefficient. The change in light intensity variation due to spontaneous emission is:

hf dI s = A n ( E2 ) p ( E1 )dE d 1dE d 2 v dt spon

dI s dz dI s dI s = + dz stim dz stim
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The total resultant light intensity variation is

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Gain
The total resultant light intensity variation is:

dI s dz
Where:

dI s dI s = + = g ( hf ) I s + h ( hf ) dz stim dz stim

hf dI s g ( hf ) = n ( E2 ) p ( E1 ) n ( E1 ) p ( E2 ) dE1dE2 = B v dz stim hf dI s h ( hf ) = = A n ( E2 ) p ( E1 )dE1dE2 v dt spon or hf dI s g ( hf ) = g c ( E2 ) g v ( E1 ) f c ( E2 ) f v ( E1 ) dE1dE2 = B v dz stim

The condition for positive gain is obtained if E fn E fp > E2 E1

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Light intensity
The total resultant light intensity variation is:

dI s dz
Where:

dI s dI s = + = g ( hf ) I s + h ( hf ) dz stim dz stim

hf dI s g ( hf ) = n ( E2 ) p ( E1 ) n ( E1 ) p ( E2 ) dE1dE2 = B v dz stim hf dI s h ( hf ) = = A n ( E2 ) p ( E1 )dE1dE2 v dt spon or hf dI s g ( hf ) = g c ( E2 ) g v ( E1 ) f c ( E2 ) f v ( E1 ) dE1dE2 = B v dz stim

The condition for positive gain is obtained if E fn E fp > E2 E1

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Optical cavity
Optical cavity:
R1
Pl Pl exp( iL)
( iL) (1 R2 ) Pl exp(

R2

(1 R1 ) R2 Pl exp(2 iL)
Pl

R1 R2 Pl exp(2 iL)
Pl exp( gL)

Pl exp(2 gL)
L

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Amplitude condition for laser oscillation

Power amplification with distance:

P = Po e gz
Amplitude amplification for one round trip:

E = REo e

( g ) 2 L + j 2 L
2

active region, is the power attenuation coefficient, is propagation p p g constant, , R is the amplitude p reflection coefficients of the mirror R1 and R2 when R = R1 R2 Two conditions should be met:

Eo is amplitude of the light before the trip. L is the length of

Re
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( g ) L

1 1 1 g ln + L R
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and

R large
40

Analog modulation
Analog modulation:
Light t output power, P ( (mW)

20

Time 10

0 0 50 100 Current, l (mA)

is

Time

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Digital modulation
Digital modulation:
Light output power, P (mW)

20

10

0 0 50 Current, l (mA) 100 Time

is

Time

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Temperature dependent of laser diode

Temperature dependent of laser diode :
8

Lig ght output pow wer, P (mW)

80C 70C 60C 50C 40C 30C

0 0 50 100 150 200 Current, l (mA)

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Edge emission laser

Asymmetric radiation from edge emitting LD

120
Beam Intensity

30

Parallel Plane Perpencicular Plane

90 45

45 90

Beam Angle
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Edge emission laser

Asymmetric radiation from edge emitting LD

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References
S. O. S O Kasap, Kasap Optoelectronics and photonics principle and practice Pearson Education, 2001. Titsuo Fukuda, Optical semiconductor devices, Wiley series in microwave and optical engineering, Wiley interscience, 1999. Gerd Keiser, Optical Fiber Communication, McGraw-hill, third edition 2000.

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