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Traditional distributed feedback (DFB) or distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers typically have commonly employed buried gratings as frequency-selective optical feedback mechanisms. However, the fabrication of such gratings often requires regrowth processes, which introduce significant technical challenges, particularly for material systems such as GaAs and GaSb. While metal gratings have been implemented in GaSb-based lasers, they incur additional absorption losses, thereby constraining the device's efficiency and achievable output power. Herein, we introduce a laterally coupled dielectric Bragg grating structure, which enables highly controllable, deterministic, and stable coupling between the grating and the optical mode. Our device demonstrates a continuous-wave output power of 47.02 mW at room temperature, exhibiting stable single-mode operation from 300 to 1000 mA and a maximum side mode suppression ratio of 46.7 dB. These results underscore the innovative lateral coupled dielectric grating as a feasible and technologically superior approach for fabricating DFB and DBR lasers, which hold universal applicability across different material platforms and wavelength bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement and control of mechanical resonators are critical for cavity magnomechanics, which has emerged as an important frontier for hybrid quantum systems based on magnonics. Traditional microwave-based measurements require handling high-frequency signals and cannot achieve field distribution detection. Here, we demonstrate a method for optically measuring and manipulating a ferromagnetic mechanical resonator. This technique allows for direct observation of the response and field distribution of mechanical oscillations during magnomechanically induced transparency/absorption processes, confirming that the mechanical mode S 1 , 2 is coupled with the magnon. The optical measurement not only serves to validate the magnomechanical coupling theory but also reduces the necessity for high-frequency measurements. Furthermore, we utilize the instantaneously measured results to implement feedback control of the self-oscillating mechanical resonator to overcome the dynamical back-action limit, achieving a threefold enhancement of phonon lasing amplitude. This feedback control lays the foundation for the study of quantum cavity magnomechanics, such as the feedback cooling of a magnomechanical resonator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for generating bandwidth-enhanced chaotic laser with time-delay signature suppression by a microring resonator is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. Through multiple beam interference effect and nonlinear effect within a microring resonator, chaotic laser generated by conventional optical feedback is optimized. A chaotic laser with the standard bandwidth of 26.5 GHz, the spectrum flatness of ±1.5 dB, and the time-delay signature value of 0.09 is obtained. The influence of the injection power and the frequency detuning on the optimized characteristics of chaotic laser are analyzed. The results show that chaotic laser with the standard bandwidth above 20 GHz and the spectrum flatness below ±3.5 dB can be achieved simultaneously in wide operating parameter regions. Furthermore, the effect of the radius of a microring resonator on the characteristics of the chaotic laser is investigated. The results show that a microring resonator can realize the performance optimization of chaotic laser. Due to the decreased loss, the time-delay signature suppression is better as the radius of a microring resonator increases. This scheme is simple and integration-compatible, which contributes to the development of an integrated, time-delay signature suppressed and broadband chaotic laser sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An external-cavity laser with resonant optical feedback is a common and mature method to achieve narrow linewidth lasers. Since the proposal of optical feedback in 1964, a series of studies on resonant optical feedback have been reported. Although longer feedback length leads to narrower linewidth, it also introduces coupling of environmental noise and causes instability in the laser cavity, which is detrimental to high-speed tuning of the laser wavelength. With such a challenge, current research on resonant optical feedback primarily focuses on the static results of laser linewidth compression. In order to obtain narrow linewidth high-speed tuned external-cavity lasers, further research on the laser dynamics is required to obtain dynamic tuning of narrow linewidth external-cavity lasers. In this work, we construct an external-cavity laser based on resonant optical feedback, and utilize a coherent detection method to measure the dynamic process of laser linewidth compression and wavelength tuning. Based on resonant optical feedback from the external cavity, the linewidth of the main-cavity laser can be compressed from near 100 kHz to the 100 Hz level, with the frequency noise compressed from the order of 104 to the 102 Hz2/Hz level. Since the wavelength switching process includes frequency shift process, linewidth compression process, and frequency stabilization process, etc., we first conduct a research on laser linewidth compression dynamics. In the results of linewidth compression dynamics, we discover that using a shorter fiber ring results in shorter linewidth compression time, which is advantageous for laser dynamic tuning. We subsequently carry out the laser wavelength switching process with a main-cavity switching time in milliseconds. In the wavelength switching process, while undergoing the frequency shift process of fast tuning transient laser frequency, the laser first undergoes the linewidth broadening process, then enters the main-cavity laser frequency stabilization process and undergoes the linewidth compression process at the same time. The experimental results show that the 100 m feedback fiber ring will not significantly increase the external-cavity laser wavelength switching time under the condition that linewidth compression is faster than main-cavity laser switching, while a longer fiber ring will introduce a strong noise. Our work experimentally demonstrates that shorter feedback ring lengths lead to faster compression, which provides valuable insights for the development of high-speed and high-precision tunable narrow linewidth external-cavity lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In various optical feedback cavity-enhanced spectroscopies (OF-CESs) based on absorption or scattering, conventional phase-locking methods are constrained by their ability to handle only minor phase deviations. This limitation is due to the source of an error signal for phase adjustment. This paper introduces a robust approach for phase-locking, which combines the shape and intensity of cavity transmission profiles to identify phase deviations. The advantage of this combination is that it can always generate a suitable error signal, irrespective of the phase's position in the entire 2π period. The outstanding performance of the corresponding servo loop under severe airflow shocks demonstrates that our approach significantly increases the feasibility of applying various OF-CES setups for real-time, in situ gas detection in harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent development of perovskite-based lasers showcased the outstanding optical properties of the material such as high absorption coefficient and high quantum yield. The lasers were demonstrated in the form of nanowires and nanoplates, which are difficult to be integrated on a chip in the form of high-density arrays due to the difficulties in positioning them on the chip. The solution to this problem should be to use the well-known lithography process in the fabrication process of the lasers. In this work, we demonstrate several perovskite-based plasmonic lasers that were fabricated by using the lithographic in-mold patterning method that relies on the electron beam lithography process. The lasers utilized CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals as the gain material and plasmonic distributed Bragg reflector grating structure as the optical feedback provider to achieve a low lasing threshold of 42.5 μJ/cm2 with a linewidth of 0.6 nm (FWHM) at room temperature. The use of the lithographic process in the fabrication of the lasers makes it possible to fabricate and integrate them on a chip in a relatively high-density manner, so that they can be used extensively in quantum optics and on-chip integrated photonics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interband cascade lasers are power-efficient mid-infrared laser sources which usually exhibit a spectral linewidth of hundreds of kHz. However, narrower linewidth lasers are more desirable for high-resolution molecular spectroscopy applications. This work narrows the spectral linewidth of an interband cascade laser from about 530 kHz down to about 30 kHz by applying optical feedback from an external mirror. In contrast to common laser diodes, the linewidth reduction of interband cascade lasers does not require any feedback phase control, which significantly simplifies the experimental configuration, and hence, is highly favorable for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally realize the finite-rate isothermal process of a Brownian particle in a breathing harmonic potential. For the compression process, finite-rate equilibration can be achieved by increasing and then decreasing the stiffness of the potential to the final stiffness according to the shortcuts-to-isothermal (ScI) protocol. On the other hand, the realization of the ScI expansion is experimentally impossible with optical tweezers due to the requirement of a negative stiffness. Here, we propose a simple and elegant method to resolve this problem and demonstrate the ScI expansion by using the optical feedback trap capable of creating an arbitrary spatiotemporal potential even with a negative stiffness. In addition, we check the thermodynamic energetics such as work, heat, and internal energy, which indeed obey stochastic thermodynamics. Our method provides the possibility of a Brownian heat engine with maximum efficiency but non-vanishing power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of self-mixing interference in terahertz distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers (THz DFB-QCLs) were studied by coupled wave theory and the multimode rate equation method. Under weak self-mixing optical feedback, the response behaviors of the DFB-QCLs are similar to those of Fabry–Pérot lasers and can be described by the Lang–Kobayashi equations with a modified feedback parameter. The amplitudes of the self-mixing power and frequency signals decrease with the increasing DFB coupling factor. Under strong feedback, new side modes arise, which broaden the laser linewidth. The number of side modes decreases with the increasing DFB coupling factor. The simulation also demonstrates that the maximum power mode of a THz DFB-QCL under strong self-mixing feedback is the minimum linewidth mode. These results support the development of self-mixing interferometers based on DFB-QCLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motion control of a levitated nanoparticle plays a central role in optical levitation for fundamental studies and practical applications. Here, we presented digital parametric feedback cooling based on square wave modulation by switching trapping laser intensity between two levels. The effects of the modulation depth and modulation signal phase on the cooling result were investigated in detail. Using such a digital parametric feedback method, the center-of-mass temperature of all three motional degrees of freedom can be cooled to dozens of millikelvin. The flexibility and agility of the digital feedback control pave the way for a variety of motion control modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the effect of the polarization anisotropy on the linewidth enhancement factor and the reflection sensitivity of InAs/InP quantum dash semiconductor lasers. The results show that the small linewidth enhancement factor and high stability against external optical feedback are obtained for nanostructures oriented perpendicular to the cavity axis as opposed to those oriented parallel to the cavity axis. Effective simulations on the critical feedback level of these two lasers are also in agreement with experimental results. Such anisotropy is attributed to the polarization dependence of the transition matrix element in these quantum nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser dynamics have great potential for various applications, ranging from cryptography to microwave photonics and instrumentation. This letter presents a design for achieving high sensitive sensing and measurement using the dynamics of a laser diode (LD) with a dual external cavity. In the design, one cavity is used to control the dynamics, making the LD operate at the period-one (P1) oscillation state, and the other one is associated with the quantities to be measured. The Lang-Kobayashi equations are modified and solved to develop a bifurcation diagram for the design, from which we determine the P1 state and investigate the sensing performance within this state. It is shown that, when operating in P1, the laser intensity exhibits an oscillation with its amplitude modulated by a traditional optical feedback interferometric (OFI) signal (generated with a single cavity and LD operating at the steady state). It is also observed that the modulation depth is remarkably larger than the magnitude of a traditional OFI signal. This leads to a significant increase in the sensitivity of sensing and measurement and hence provides an attractive solution for the detection of very small or weak physical quantities. An experimental system is designed, and the experimental results verify the high sensitive sensing performance of the proposed design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid crystal random fiber lasers (LC-RFLs) exhibit low spatial coherence, extraordinary tunability, and high flexibility and are therefore promising for use in imaging and related applications. They nevertheless suffer from ineffective emission along the fiber axis. This work develops an end-emitting LC-RFL that is based on a pump-induced gain–loss structure, which effectively modulates the optical feedback, thereby providing directional random lasing along the fiber. The laser emission comprises ∼10 000 transverse spatial modes that are mutually incoherent, resulting in a negligible speckle contrast of ∼0.7% (far below the speckle-perception threshold of human eyes). The developed LC-RFL is used to perform speckle-free full-field imaging in a setting with strong optical crosstalk in a multimode fiber. Our findings support the potential widespread use of LC-RFL as a spatially incoherent, flexible laser source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report a single transverse mode distributed feedback (DFB) protein laser. The gain medium that is composed of enhanced green fluorescent protein in a silk fibroin matrix yields a waveguiding gain layer on a DFB resonator. The thin TiO2 layer on the quartz grating improves optical feedback due to the increased effective refractive index. The protein laser shows a single transverse mode lasing at the wavelength of 520 nm with the threshold level of 92.1 µJ/mm². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate the feasibility of high-resolution terahertz gas spectroscopy based on the external optical feedback effect in a quantum-cascade laser. Tuning the frequency of the quantum-cascade laser across a molecular absorption line of CH3OH leads to a reduction of the optical feedback, which can be detected by monitoring the voltage across the quantum-cascade laser. This method provides a high spectral resolution of ν/Δν=106ν/Δν=106 and a sensitivity comparable to that obtained with a cryogenically cooled Ge:Ga photoconductive detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimated experimentally the linewidth (0.28MHz) of a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser emitting at 6.2 µm using optical feedback interferometry. The method is simply based on the analysis of the histogram of laser self-mixing fringe periods measured directly as voltage variation across the laser terminals. We assessed the optimal experimental conditions estimating the influence of the optical feedback strength on the interferometric phase noise and compared our results with those reported using conventional interferometric methods based on the analysis of the frequency noise power spectral density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated an electrically injected ultra-low threshold (8.9 nA) room temperature InGaN/GaN based lateral nanowire laser. The nanowires are triangular in shape and survived naturally after etching using boiling phosphoric acid. A polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and air dielectric distributed mirror provide an optical feedback, which together with one-dimensional density of states cause ultra-low threshold lasing. Finite difference eigen-mode (FDE) simulation shows that triangular nanowire cavity supports single dominant mode similar to TE01 that of a corresponding rectangular cavity with a confinement factor of 0.18. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of interband cascade lasers (ICLs) has made the strong C-H transitions in the 3 μm spectral region increasingly accessible. We present the demonstration of a single mode distributed feedback ICL coupled to a V-shaped optical cavity in an optical feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OF-CEAS) experiment. We achieved a minimum detectable absorption coefficient, αmin, of (7.1±0.2)×10-8 cm-1 for a spectrum of CH4 at 3.24 μm with a two second acquisition time (100 scans averaged). This corresponds to a detection limit of 3 ppb CH4 at atmospheric pressure, which is comparable to previously reported OF-CEAS instruments with diode lasers or quantum cascade lasers. The ability to frequency lock an ICL source in the important 3 μm region to an optical cavity holds great promise for future spectroscopic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External optical feedback is studied experimentally in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers. These structures exhibit a dynamical response close to that observed in interband lasers, with threshold reduction and optical power enhancement when increasing the feedback ratio. The study of the optical spectrum proves that the laser undergoes five distinct regimes depending on the phase and amplitude of the reinjected field. These regimes are mapped in the plane of external cavity length and feedback strength, revealing unstable behavior only for a very narrow range of operation, making quantum cascade lasers much more stable than their interband counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate switching between ground state and excited state emission in a quantum-dot laser subject to optical feedback. Even though the solitary laser emits only from the excited state, we can trigger the emission of the ground state by optical feedback. We observe recurrent but incomplete switching between the two emission states by variation of the external cavity length in the submicrometer scale. We obtain a good qualitative agreement of experimental results with simulation results obtained by a rate equation that accounts for the variations of the feedback phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies the phase contributions of a photonic crystal waveguide resonator. When studying the transmission spectrum of such resonators oscillations of group index are observed that can not be described by typical models conventionally used for analysis. We develop a simple mathematical tool capable of describing these oscillations. Furthermore, we carry out experiments on a Si photonic crystal waveguide resonator and apply that tool extracting phase contributions of the photonic crystal waveguide terminations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide experimental evidence of super-harmonic self-pulsation in a laser diode with a phaseconjugate optical feedback (PCF), i.e., time-periodic nearly sinusoidal oscillating output power at a frequency being multiple of the external-cavity frequency that corresponds to the long-standing predictions of so-called "external-cavity mode" [G. P. Agrawal and J. T. Klaus, Opt. Lett. 16, 1325-1327 (1991)]. High-harmonic self-pulsations have been so far limited to configurations with long time-delay, hence to relatively small frequencies (<1-2 GHz). By contrast, the reported self-pulsating solutions from PCF are stable in a larger range of feedback strength and with higher-order harmonic number when decreasing the external-cavity time-delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The external optical feedback-sensitivity of a two-section, passively mode-locked quantum dot laser operating at elevated temperature is experimentally investigated as a function of absorber bias voltage. Results show that the reverse-bias voltage on the absorber has a direct impact on the damping rate of the free-running relaxation oscillations of the optical signal output, thereby enabling interactive external control over the feedback-response of the device, even under the nearly resonant cavity configuration. The combination of high temperature operation and tunable feedback-sensitivity is highly promising from a technological standpoint, in particular, for applications requiring monolithic integration of multi-component architectures on a single chip in order to accomplish, for instance, the dual-objectives of stable pulse quality and isolation from parasitic reflections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a compact chaotic laser device, which consists of a semiconductor laser and a twodimensional (2D) external cavity for delayed optical feedback. The overall size of the device is within 230 lmμ1mm. A long time delay sufficient for chaos generation can be achieved with the small area by the multiple reflections at the 2D cavity boundary, and the feedback strength is controlled by the injection current to the external cavity. We experimentally demonstrate that a variety of output properties, including chaotic output, can be selectively generated by controlling the injection current to the external cavity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random optical bipolar pulses (ROBPs) were experimentally demonstrated in an all-optical continuous wave stimulated Brillouin scattering system without any modulation. The features of these bipolar pulses include short rise and fall time, different recurrence rates, and doublefrequency property. Three-wave parametric coupling equations model simulations agree qualitatively well with the experiments. Our experimental and theoretical studies confirm that the optical feedback is essential and the multi-wave coupling effects are the mechanism for the ROBPs events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) intrinsically high sensitivity to external optical feedback intended for sensing applications such as in-line ablation rate measurements is experimentally demonstrated. We developed a QCL-based sensor to assess the voltage modulation at the laser terminals induced by fast displacement of the ablation front during the process. This work shows that the detection range of our diagnostic system is only limited by the emission wavelength of the QCL probe source and the capability to measure ablation rates as high as 160?nm/pulse was reported. This sensing technique can be employed with the whole class of quantum cascade lasers, whose emission spans from mid-IR to THz spectral region, thus enabling the extension of its applications to ultra-fast laser ablation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-mode laser operating in the excited states (ESs) of a quantum dot is realized by combining asymmetric pumping and external optical feedback stabilization. In generating two single-mode emission peaks, a mode separation ranging from 1.3-THz to 3.6-THz is demonstrated over temperature. This effect is attributed to the unique carrier dynamics of the quantum-dot gain medium via the excited state inhomogeneous linewidth coupled with a proper external control. These results are particularly important towards the development of future THz optoelectronic sources with compact size, low fabrication cost, and high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase noise characteristics of single mode semiconductor lasers with optical feedback have been studied. A correlation is found between the suppression of the low-frequency noise and the enhancement of the high-frequency noise near the relaxation oscillation frequency. Contrary to previous analyses, the low-frequency noise is minimized when the reflected light is 70°-90° out of phase with respect to that inside the diode laser cavity. A calculation of the laser frequency fluctuation spectrum, taking into account the amplitude-phase coupling of the laser field, agrees with the observation. A new explanation is proposed for the feedback-induced phase noise reduction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The noise properties of the pulse trains of passively mode-locked 40 GHz quantum-dot lasers subject to optical feedback are investigated in detail. Five different feedback regimes are discovered and the clearly identified regime of resonant optical feedback is further examined. The feedback parameters yielding minimum phase noise are determined. Here, the radio-frequency (RF)-line-width is reduced from its original value by 99% to 1.9 kHz. The corresponding pulse-to pulse jitter of 23 fs is a record low value for passively mode-locked 40 GHz quantum-dot lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A promising method is proposed to inspect and locate foreign bodies in biological samples. It combines advantages of confocal microscopy and optical feedback effect of microchip solid-state laser, and retrieves both spatial positioning and specific images by the sensitive detection of extremely weak signals retro-diffused by the interface in samples. By testing onion samples containing pins as foreign bodies, this approach has been demonstrated to examine the foreign body and locate its position within several millimeters depth below the sample surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate an optically pumped hybrid III-V/Si distributed feedback laser with a small footprint, using sidewall modulated Bragg gratings for optical feedback. Our approach provides high overlap between lasing mode and gain medium and may enable hybrid lasers with improved efficiency, reduced threshold, and minimal size. We fabricate the structure using plasma-assisted wafer bonding, followed by self-aligned lithography and etching. The latter allows us to avoid alignment errors. This approach is a promising avenue toward ultracompact, energy efficient, and scalable monolithically integrated photonic circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]