Electrically pumped shot-noise limited class A VECSEL at telecom wavelength.

Class A shot-noise limited operation is achieved in an electrically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL), opening the way for integration of such peculiar noiseless laser oscillation in applications where low power consumption and footprint are mandatory. The quantum well active medium is grown on an InP substrate to enable laser oscillation at telecom wavelengths. Single frequency class A operation is obtained by proper optimization of the cavity dimensions, ensuring at the same time a sufficiently long and high-finesse cavity without any intracavity filtering components. The laser design constraints due to electrical pumping are discussed as compared to optical pumping. The intensity noise spectrum of this laser is shown to be shot-noise limited, leading to a relative intensity noise of $-160\;{\rm dB/Hz}$ for 3.1 mA detected photocurrent.

Heating-Enhanced Dielectrophoresis for Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Film of Ultrahigh Density.

In this paper, we demonstrate that the alignment density of individualized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be greatly improved by heating-enhanced dielectrophoresis (HE-DEP) process. The observations by scanning electron microscope (SEM) suggest ultrahigh alignment density and good alignment quality of SWCNTs. The intuitive alignment density of individualized SWCNTs is much higher than the currently reported best results. The reason of this HE-DEP process is explained by simulation work and ascribed to the heating-enhanced convection process, and the "convection force" induced by the heating effect is assessed in a novel way.

Guided Photoluminescence from Integrated Carbon-Nanotube-Based Optical Waveguides.

Thin films and ridge waveguides based on large-diameter semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) dispersed in a polyfluorene derivative are fabricated and optically characterized. Ridge waveguides are designed with appropriate dimensions for single-mode propagation at 1550 nm. Using multimode ridge waveguides, guided s-SWCNT photoluminescence is demonstrated for the first time in the near-infrared telecommunications window.

Photonics based on carbon nanotubes.

Among direct-bandgap semiconducting nanomaterials, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) exhibit strong quasi-one-dimensional excitonic optical properties, which confer them a great potential for their integration in future photonics devices as an alternative solution to conventional inorganic semiconductors. In this paper, we will highlight SWCNT optical properties for passive as well as active applications in future optical networking. For passive applications, we directly compare the efficiency and power consumption of saturable absorbers (SAs) based on SWCNT with SA based on conventional multiple quantum wells. For active applications, exceptional photoluminescence properties of SWCNT, such as excellent light-emission stabilities with temperature and excitation power, hold these nanometer-scale materials as prime candidates for future active photonics devices with superior performances.