Laser Sources and Their Fundamental and Engineering Limits
This appendix summarizes in table form the characteristics of lasers and other light sources systems important to active EO sensing and their fundamental and practical engineering limitations. Tables C-1 to C-4 are called out in the laser discussion in Chapter 4. Tables C-5 through C-12 are summarized in Chapter 5.
TABLE C-1 Key Characteristics of Edge-Emitting Interband Diode Lasers
Material | Wavelength Range (nm) | Single-emitter Power | Single-Emitter Efficiency (%) | Bar Power (W) | Bar Efficiency (%) |
GaInN | ~380 | 0.2 | 10-15 | ||
400, 450 | 1.2-1.6 | 25-30 | — | — | |
~520 | 0.05 | <<10 | — | — | |
AlGaInP | 639-690 | 0.75-1.5 | 20-25 | — | — |
632, 635, 638 | — | — | 2.5-8 W | >25 | |
675 | — | — | 20 W | >35 | |
GaAlAs | 793, 808, 852 | 5-7 W | 60 | 60-200 | 50-60 |
InGaAs | 915-976 | 10-15 | 60-70 | 120-200 | 60-70 |
1,064 | 5 W | 50-55 | 60 | 50-55 | |
InGaAsP/ | 1,470-1,532 | 5-7 W | 30-45 | 60-100 | 30-40 |
AlInGaAs | 1,600-1,700 | 3 W | 20-25 | 40 | 20-25 |
AlGaInAsSb | 1,900-2,100 | 1-2 W | 10-15 | 15-20 W | 10-20 |
2,300-2,500 | 1 W | 5-10 | |||
SOURCE: Data provided by Steven Patterson, DILAS, Tucson, Ariz.
TABLE C-2 Key Characteristics of State of-the-Art Cascade Diode Lasers
QCL: InP/InGaAs/InAlAs |
Wavelength of best operation: 4-5 µm; output power: 5 W, CW with 21% efficiency (obtained with AlAs inserts to increase the effective barrier heights). Wavelengths between 2.9 and 4 µm and from 5 to 150 µm operate with lower performance. |
QCL: GaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs |
Wavelength of best operation: 10 µm; output power: 80 mW at 77 K; CW up to 150 K. Far-IR wavelength: 100 µm; output: 8 mW, CW at 45 K with 0.2 % efficiency. No CW above 117 K. Full wavelength range = 9-300 µm; non-competitive in mid-IR. |
QCL: GaSb/(InAs/AlSb) |
Wavelengths; 2.6 – 5 µm. CW only with TE cooler |
QCL: InP/InGaAs/AlAsSb |
To date, non-competitive with InGaAs/InAlAs at any wavelength. No CW room temperature operation. |
ICL on GaSb |
Wavelength: 3-4.2 µm; output power: 360 mW; efficiency: 15%. Wavelengths from 4.2-6 mm with lower performance. |
ICL on InAs |
Wavelength: 5.3 µm; Output Power: 40 mW at 180 K; CW up to 248 K. Wavelength range: 5.3-10.4 mm. |
NOTE: QCL, quantum cascade laser; ICL, interband cascade laser.
SOURCE: Data provided by Jerry Meyer and Igor Vurgaftman, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
TABLE C-3 Characteristics of Several Common Bulk Laser Materials
Material | Wavelength (nm) | Storage Time (msec) | Cross section (cm2) | Gain Linewidth (nm) | Saturation Fluence (J/cm2) |
Nd:YAG | 1,064 | 0.24 | 2.8 × 10-19 | 0.6 | 0.66 |
Nd:vanadate | 1,064 | 0.09 | 1.1 × 10-18 | 1.0 | 0.17 |
Nd:YLF | 1,047 | 0.485 | 1.8 × 10-19 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nd:glass | 1,050-1,060 | 0.3-0.4 | 3-4 × 10-20 | 20-30 | 4.7-6.3 |
Yb:YAG | 1,030 | 0.95 | 2.1 × 10-20 | 9 | 9.2 |
Yb:YAG(77K) | 1,030 | 0.85 | 1.1 × 10-19 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
Er:YAG | 1,645 | 7.6 | 5.0 × 10-21 | 5 | 24 |
Er:glass | 1,550 | 7.9 | 8.0 × 10-21 | 55 | 16 |
Ho:YAG | 2,090 | 8.5 | 1.3 × 10-20 | 25 | 7.3 |
Ho:YLF | 2,050 | 15 | 1.8 × 10-20 | 25 | 5.3 |
Ti:sapphire | 800 | 0.0032 | 3.0 × 10-19 | 225 (100 THz) | 0.83 |
Cr:ZnSe | 2,450 | 0.006 | 1.3 × 10-18 | 1,000 (50 THz) | 0.06 |
TABLE C-4 Properties of Hybrid Lasers
Material | Wavelength (nm) | Pulse Energy (mJ) | Pulsewidth (ns) | Pulse Rate (Hz) |
Er:YAGa | 1,617 | 30 | 42 | 30 |
Er:YAGb | 1,645 | 4.2 | 100 | 1,000 |
Er:YAGc | 1,645 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 10,000 |
Er:YAGd | 1,645 | 60 W | CW | |
Ho:YLFe | 2,050 | 170 | 20 | 100 |
Ho:YLFf | 2,050 | 100 | 20 | 1,000 |
Ho:YLFg | 2,050 | 115 W | CW | |
Ho:YAGh | 2,090 | 125 | 20 | 100 |
Ho:YAGi | 2,090 | 22 | 70 | 1,000 |
Ho:YAGj | 2,090 | 1.7 | 50 | 35,000 |
a J.W. Kim, J.I. Mackenzie, J.K. Sahu, and W.A. Clarkson, “Hybrid fibre-bulk erbium lasers—Recent progress and future prospects,” 7th EMRS DTC Technical Conference, Edinburgh, 2010.
b D.Y. Shen, J.K. Sahu, and W.A. Clarkson, “Highly efficient in-band pumped Er:YAG laser with 60 W of output at 1645 nm,” Opt. Lett. 31:754, 2006.
c R.C. Stoneman, R. Hartman, E.A. Schneider, A.I.R. Malm, S.R. Vetorino, C.G. Garvin, J.V. Pelk, S.M. Hannon, and S.W. Henderson, “Eye-safe 1.6-µm Er:YAG transmitters for coherent laser radar,” Proceedings 14th Coherent Laser Radar Conference, July 8-13, 2007, Snowmass, Colo.
d D.Y. Shen, J.K. Sahu, and W.A. Clarkson, “Highly efficient in-band pumped Er:YAG laser with 60 W of output at 1645 nm,” Opt. Lett. 31:754, 2006.
e A. Dergachev, “45-dB, Compact, Single-Frequency, 2-µm Amplifier,” paper FTh4A.2 in Lasers, Sources, and Related Photonic Devices, OSA Technical Digest (CD), Optical Society of America, 2012.
f Ibid.
g Ibid.
h K. Schmidt, C. Reiter, H. Voss, F. Maßmann, and M. Ostermeyer, “High Energy 125mJ Ho: YAG (2.09 um) MOPA Double Pass Laser System Pumped by CW Thulium Fiber Laser (1.9 um),” paper CA3_4 in CLEO/Europe and EQEC 2011 Conference Digest, OSA Technical Digest (CD), OSA, 2011.
i Ibid.
j A. Hemming, J. Richards, A. Davidson, N. Carmody, S. Bennetts, N. Simakov, and J. Haub, “99 W mid-IR operation of a ZGP OPO at 25 percent duty cycle,” Opt. Express 21:10062, 2013.
TABLE C-5 Fundamental Limits of Diode Lasers: Interband, Edge-Emitting
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | 100% | Fundamental energy conservation | One photon per one injected carrier |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | 40-70% | Multiple device issues | Ohmic losses, injected carrier spreading away from lasing region, active region absorption loss, Auger losses (at long wavelengths) |
Wavelength | >380 nm | Materials | Limit of GaAlN material, no other large-bandgap II-VI has allowed PN junction fabrication |
<520 nm | Materials | Limits of GaAlN material | |
>630 nm | Materials | Lack of semiconductors with bandgaps in green-yellow-red region that can form PN junctions | |
<2,500 nm | Materials | Limits on active materials and DBR structures | |
Power out (1 emitting facet, 1 TM) | 0.1-0.5 W | pn junction physics, facet damage | Height of emitting region limited to 0.5 µm by junction height, width limited by multi-mode operation, intensity limited by facet damage levels |
Power out (1 emitting facet, MultiTM) | 15 W (at 9xx µm, less at others) | pn junction physics, transverse lasing, facet damage | Same height limit as above, width of emitting region limited by lasing in transverse direction, intensity limited by facet damage |
Power out (1-cm-long, linear bar, multiple emitters) | 200 W (at 9xx µm, less at others) | Device temperature, limited by heat removal | Efforts to improve heat removal are underway, to allow limit to become facet damage, but cost and reliability are challenges. Efficiency improvements will allow bars to generate higher powers |
Spectral linewidth (single TM) | Several MHz | Coupling of diode current fluctuations to cavity refractive index | Can be reduced to the kHz range through use of an external cavity |
NOTE: TM = transverse mode.
Refer to Table C-1 for device properties as a function of wavelength.
TABLE C-6 Diode Lasers Vertical Cavity (VCSEL)
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | 100% | Fundamental energy conservation | One photon per one injected carrier |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | 40-60% (8xx-9xx nm) | Multiple device issues | Ohmic losses, injected carrier spreading away from lasing region, absorption loss in active region, Auger losses (at long wavelengths) |
Wavelength | >410 nm | Materials | Limit of GaAlN material, no other large-bandgap II-VI has allowed PN junction fabrication |
<503 nm | Materials | Limits of GaAlN material | |
>630 nm | Materials | Lack of semiconductors with bandgaps in green-yellow-red region that can form PN junctions | |
<2,000 nm | Thermal activation | The smaller bandgaps can be bridged with thermally activated carriers | |
Power out (1 emitting facet, 1 TM) | 5-15 mW | Active region heating | Diameter of 1 TM limited to ~4 µm on chip by optical cavity, limits power for a given current |
Power out (1 emitting facet, MTM) | 5 W | Active region heating region | Done with 300-µm emitting region diameter |
Power out (VCSEL arrays) | 230 W (maximum at 9xx nm) | Temperature limited by heat removal | Power from 0.22 cm2 area, can scale further by increasing the area. Low-duty cycles increase peak power to nearly 1 kW from 5 × 5 mm area. |
Spectral linewidth (1 TM) | Several MHz | Coupling of diode current fluctuations to cavity refractive index | Can be reduced to the kHz range through use of an external cavity |
TABLE C-7 Diode Lasers: Quantum Cascade (QCL)
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | Variable % | Fundamental energy conservation | Each laser transition efficiency limited by energy of photon divided by bandgap of base material, but multiple transitions in series (typ. 25-75) increase the efficiency by this factor. |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | 21 %, cw, RT, (40-50% pulsed, 160 K) | Multiple device issues | Ohmic losses, injected carrier spreading away from lasing region, absorption loss in active region, losses through the injector regions. |
Wavelength = 4.9 µm. | |||
Wavelength | >3.8 µm (cw) | Materials | Limits to depth of quantum well in InP structures, but efficiency is low on the short-wavelength end. Pulsed operation to ~3 µm |
<13 µm (cw) | Materials | Typical limit for room-temperature, cw operation. Pulsed/cryogenic operation to 30 µm | |
>60 µm cryogenics for cw THz | Materials | Phonon absorption in InP-based devices prevents coverage of 30-60-µm wavelengths, | |
Power Out Single device | 5 W (4.9 µm) | Thermal heating | Achieved in high-efficiency (21%) devices |
Spectral linewidth (1 TM) | Sub-MHz | Current and 1/f noise | Can be reduced to the kHz range with current feedback. Intrinsic noise is several hundred Hz. |
NOTE: Refer to Table C-2 for device properties as a function of semiconductor material system.
TABLE C-8 Diode Lasers: Interband Cascade (ICL)
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | Variable % | Fundamental: energy conservation | Eacc laser transition efficiency limited by the energy of the photon divided by the bandgap energy of the base semiconductor material, but ICLs employ multiple transitions in series so efficiency is increased |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | 15% (3.7 µm, cw, RT) | Multiple device issues | Ohmic losses, injected carrier spreading away from lasing region, absorption loss in active region, losses through the injector regions |
Wavelength | >3 µm, cw | Materials | Limited depth of interband quantum well |
<6 µm cw | Materials | Too high current densities at longer wavelengths | |
Power out single device | 0.36 W (3.7 µm) | Thermal heating | Achieved in high-efficiency (15%) devices |
NOTE: Refer to Table C-2 for device properties as a function of semiconductor material system.
TABLE C-9 Solid State Lasers: Bulk Format
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Optical efficiency (theory) | Quantum defect ≡ ratio of laser wavelength to average pump wavelength | Fundamental: energy conservation | Example: 76% for 1,064-nm Nd:YAG laser pumped at 808 nm. Violated when interaction between active ions allows >1 excited state per pump photon |
Optical efficiency (actual) | < quantum defect | Multiple | Poor spatial overlap of pump and lasing regions in material, incomplete absorption of pump, reflection of pump from material surface, losses in laser material, excited state absorption of pump or laser power, upconversion from upper laser level |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | Pump electrical efficiency times quantum defect | Fundamental: Energy conservation | Example: Pump diodes with 60% efficiency at 808 nm with Nd:YAG laser at 1,064 nm → 46% electrical efficiency |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | < pump electrical efficiency X quantum defect | Multiple | Optical efficiency < quantum defect; pump light loss in transport to laser material. Example: typical diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers are 20-25% electrically efficient. |
Wavelength | >286 nm | Materials | Transparency of host crystal |
Wavelength | <7,150 nm | Materials | Long-wavelengths have multi-phonon decay, requires low-phonon hosts; may be impractical for high-power. Better hosts (e.g. YLF) can be used for <4,300-nm lasers |
Average power (single device) | 2 kW (rods) | Material fracture, thermal effects | 1,060-nm, diode-pumped systems. Higher powers with multiple active media: >100 kW is record (Nd:YAG). Yb:YAG used for thin disks |
10 kW (disks) | |||
15 kW (slabs) | |||
Average power (1 device, diffraction-limited) | 50 W (rods) | Thermal distortion of laser material | 1,060-nm region, diode-pumped systems. Higher powers possible with multiple active media, >100 kW is present record, using Nd:YAG slab. Yb:YAG used for thin disks |
1 kW (disks) | |||
15 kW (slabs) | |||
Spectral linewidth (theory) | Several Hz | Fundamental: SchawlowTownes limit | Set by spontaneous emission of gain medium into the laser mode. True for all lasers. |
Spectral linewidth (actual, ms time scale) | Several kHz | Technical noise | Fluctuations in optical cavity length from coupling between pump power and gain medium refractive index, acoustic noise, other cavity perturbations. External stabilization can reduce technical noise to the Hz level. |
Spectral linewidth (long term) | 10-50 MHz | Environmental drift | Slow change in laser cavity temperature |
Mode-locked pulsewidth (theory) | ∼3.5 fs | Fundamental: laser material gain-bandwidth. | Value is for Ti:sapphire at 800 nm, Cr:ZnSe is 7 fs at 2500 nm, Nd:YAG is 2 ps at 1,064 nm |
Mode-locked pulsewidth (actual) | ∼4.5 fs Ti-sapphire at 800 nm | Dispersion in optical cavity, mirrors' spectral response, nonlinearities. | Cr:ZnSe is around 50 fs |
TABLE C-10 Solid State Lasers: Fiber Format
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Optical efficiency (theory) | Quantum defect = ratio of laser wavelength to average pump wavelength | Fundamental: energy conservation | Example: 95% for 1,030-nm Yb:fiber laser pumped at 976 nm. Violated for a few systems when interaction between active ions allows more than one excited state per pump photon |
Optical efficiency (actual) | < quantum defect: 88% slope efficiency for Yb:fiber | Multiple | Poor spatial overlap of pump and lasing regions in material, incomplete absorption of pump, losses in laser material, excited state absorption of pump or laser power, upconversion from upper laser level. |
Electrical efficiency (theory) | Pump electrical efficiency times quantum defect | Fundamental: energy conservation | Example: Pump diodes with 65% efficiency at 976 nm with Yb:fiber laser at 1,030 nm ->62% electrical efficiency |
Electrical efficiency (actual) | < above | Multiple | Actual optical efficiency lower than quantum defect, loss of pump light in transport from diode facet to pump cladding. Example: Yb:fiber at 1,030 nm -> 40% electrical efficiency |
Wavelength | >248 nm | Materials | Transparency limit of fiber (up-conversion laser operation in ZBLAN fibers |
Wavelength | <3,900 nm | Materials | Multi-phonon relaxation limits operation at longer wavelengths |
Average power (single fiber, 1,000-nm) | 20 kW | Stimulated Raman scattering | 1,030-nm Yb:fiber laser pumped by multiple 1,018-nm Yb:fiber lasers |
Average power (single fiber, 2,000-nm) | 1 kW | Available pump power | Tm:fiber laser pumped by 790-nm diode lasers |
Average power (single fiber, 1 frequency, 1,000-nm) | 100 W (5 kHz linewidth) | Stimulated Brillouin scattering | Yb:fiber lasers. Removed SBS by … |
100-W result: thermal gradient along length of fiber. | |||
1 kW (3 GHz linewidth) | |||
1 kW result: frequency modulated source | |||
Average power (single fiber, 1 frequency, 2,000-nm) | 600 W (<5 MHz linewidth) | Stimulated Brillouin scattering | Tm:fiber laser |
Peak power (single fiber, ns pulses) | 0.45 MW (27 mJ in 60 ns) 4.5 MW (4.3 mJ; <1 ns) | Simulated Raman scattering, optical breakdown | Yb:silica, rod-type fibers. Flexible fibers typically generate 25 kW peak powers in 400 ns |
Peak power (single fiber, ps range) | 3.8 GW (2.2 mJ in 0.5 ps) | Simulated Raman scattering, optical breakdown, self-phase modulation | Yb:silica, employs chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) to avoid nonlinear effects, rod-type fibers. Flexible fibers with CPA operate around 100 MW of peak power |
TABLE C-11 Nonlinear-Optics-Based Sources: Harmonic Generation
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Conversion efficiency (theory) | 100% | Fundamental: Energy conservation | For plane waves |
Second-harmonic conversion efficiency (actual) | 90% for flat-profile, high-energy beams (e.g., NIF) | Multiple | De-phasing from finite beam width and heating in crystal due to background and multi-photon absorption and creation of color centers, losses at entrance/exit faces, crystal, material imperfections, optical damage. |
60-70% for Gaussian-profile beam | |||
Third-harmonic conversion efficiency (actual) | 90% for flat-profile, high-energy beams (e.g., NIF) | Multiple | De-phasing from finite beam width and heating in crystal due to background and multi-photon absorption and creation of color centers, losses at entrance/exit faces, crystal, material imperfections, optical damage. |
50% for Gaussian-profile beam | |||
Average power output (theory) | Unlimited | Process does not dissipate heat | Nonlinear process has limited power density due to optical damage. |
Average power output (actual) | Widely variable | Background, multi-photon and coating absorption, color-center formation. | LBO material has the lowest absorption of common nonlinear materials, and is limited by absorption from coatings on the surface. Multiple hundreds of W for second-harmonic of Nd- or Yb-doped lasers. |
Shortest wavelength, second harmonic | 176 nm | Phase-match, vanishing nonlinear coefficients | 176 nm for KBBF crystals. For more readily available BBO crystals, about 205 nm |
TABLE C-12 Nonlinear-Optics-Based Sources: Optical Parametric Generation
Property | Value | Limit Reason | Comments |
Conversion efficiency from pump to signal + idler (theory) | 100% | Fundamental: energy conservation | For plane waves |
Conversion efficiency from pump to signal power | Pump ÷ Signal wavelengths | Fundamental: photon conservation (Manley-Rowe) | For plane waves |
Conversion efficiency from pump to idler power | Pump ÷ Idler wavelengths | Fundamental: photon conservation (Manley-Rowe) | For plane waves |
Conversion efficiency from pump to signal + idler (actual) | 90% for cw 50% typical for pulsed | Multiple | De-phasing from finite beam size, de-phasing due to heating in crystal from background absorption or multi-photon absorption and creation of color centers, losses at entrance/exit faces, material imperfections, optical damage. |
Buildup time reduces efficiency | |||
Average-power output (theory) | Unlimited | Process does not dissipate heat | Ultimate limit due to optical damage. |
Average-power output (actual) | Widely variable | Absorption: from coatings, multiphotons, parasitics, color-center formation. | See effects for conversion efficiency Levels currently below 100 W, but have been limited more by the pump laser power. Multiples of 100 W should be possible in near-IR with materials like LBO |