Erratum: Optoacoustic response of gold nanorods in soft phantoms using high-power diode laser assemblies at 870 and 905 nm: erratum.

[This corrects the article on p. 1430 in vol. 8, PMID: 28663839.].

Optoacoustic response of gold nanorods in soft phantoms using high-power diode laser assemblies at 870 and 905 nm.

In the present paper we show the optoacoustic (OA) response of two solutions of gold nanorods dispersed in distilled water (0.8 mg/ml) and hosted in tissue-like phantoms by using small arrays of high-power diode lasers [corrected] at 870 and 905 nm as excitation sources. The high-power diode lasers [corrected] are coupled to a 7-to-1 optical fiber bundle with output diameter of 675 µm. Each solution of gold nanorods exhibits an absorption peak close to the operating wavelength, i.e. ~860 nm and ~900 nm, respectively, to optimize the generation of OA signals. The phantoms are made of agar, intralipid and hemoglobin to simulate a soft biological tissue with reduced properties of scattering. Three 3-mm diameter tubes done in the phantoms at different depths (0.9 cm, 1.8 cm, and 2.7 cm) have been filled with gold nanorods. In this way, OA signals with appreciable SNR are generated at different depths in the phantoms. The high OA response exhibited by gold nanorods suggests their application in OA spectroscopy as exogenous contrast agents to detect and monitor emerging diseases like metastasis and arteriosclerotic plaques.

1 GHz InP on-chip monolithic extended cavity colliding-pulse mode-locked laser.

A record low-repetition rate from an on-chip monolithic InP extended cavity colliding-pulse mode-locked laser is experimentally reported. The device, fabricated in generic InP-based active-passive integration technology, makes use of integrated mirrors to enable its use as a building block within a photonic integrated circuit. This structure allows us to generate an electrical frequency comb with mode spacing of 1 GHz, determined by the 40.5 mm long resonator. Passive and hybrid mode-locking regime conditions are experimentally demonstrated. In the passive regime, an electrical beat tone at the fundamental repetition rate with an electrical linewidth (LW) of 398 kHz and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) >30 dB is measured. In the hybrid regime, the optical comb is locked to a continuous wave signal source, improving the LW of the generated signal and the SNR>40 dB.

Millimeter-wave signal generation for a wireless transmission system based on on-chip photonic integrated circuit structures.

We demonstrate and compare two different photonic-based signal sources for generating the carrier wave in a wireless communication link operating in the millimeter-wave range. The first signal source uses the optical heterodyne technique to generate a 113 GHz carrier wave frequency, while the second employs a different technique based on a pulsed mode-locked source with 100 GHz repetition rate frequency. The two optical sources were fabricated in a multi-project wafer run from an active/passive generic integration platform process using standardized building blocks, including multimode interference reflectors which allow us to define the structures on chip, without the need for cleaved facet mirrors. We highlight the superior performance of the mode-locked sources over an optical heterodyne technique. Error-free transmission was achieved in this experiment.

Optical frequency comb generator based on a monolithically integrated passive mode-locked ring laser with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

We report the demonstration of an optical-frequency comb generator based on a monolithically integrated ring laser fabricated in a multiproject wafer run in an active/passive integration process in a generic foundry using standardized building blocks. The device is based on a passive mode-locked ring laser architecture, which includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer to flatten the spectral shape of the comb output. This structure allows monolithic integration with other optical components, such as optical filters for wavelength selection, or dual wavelength lasers for their stabilization. The results show a -10 dB span of the optical comb of 8.7 nm (1.08 THz), with comb spacing of 10.16 GHz. We also obtain a flatness of 44 lines within a 1.8 dB power variation.

170 GHz Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiodes for InP-based photonic integrated circuits.

We demonstrate the capability of fabricating extremely high-bandwidth Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiodes (UTC-PDs) using techniques that are suitable for active-passive monolithic integration with Multiple Quantum Well (MQW)-based photonic devices. The devices achieved a responsivity of 0.27 A/W, a 3-dB bandwidth of 170 GHz, and an output power of -9 dBm at 200 GHz. We anticipate that this work will deliver Photonic Integrated Circuits with extremely high bandwidth for optical communications and millimetre-wave applications.

High-speed photodiodes for InP-based photonic integrated circuits.

We demonstrate the feasibility of monolithic integration of evanescently coupled Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiodes (UTC-PDs) having a bandwidth exceeding 100 GHz with Multimode Interference (MMI) couplers. This platform is suitable for active-passive, butt-joint monolithic integration with various Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) devices for narrow linewidth millimeter-wave photomixing sources. The fabricated devices achieved a high 3-dB bandwidth of up to 110 GHz and a generated output power of more than 0 dBm (1 mW) at 120 GHz with a flat frequency response over the microwave F-band (90-140 GHz).

Observation of phase noise reduction in photonically synthesized sub-THz signals using a passively mode-locked laser diode and highly selective optical filtering.

A Continuous Wave (CW) sub-THz photonic synthesis setup based on a single Passively Mode-Locked Laser Diode (PMLLD) acting as a monolithic Optical Frequency Comb Generator (OFCG) and highly selective optical filtering has been implemented to evaluate the phase noise performance of the generated sub-THz signals. The analysis of the synthesized sub-THz signals up to 120 GHz gives as a result an effective reduction of the electrical linewidth when compared to direct harmonic generation that begins at 50 GHz and becomes greater as the frequency increases. The phase noise reduction offered by the setup, along with its integration potential, cost and bandwidth, make it a promising candidate to the development of an integrated and high performance low phase noise local oscillator in the sub-THz range.

146-GHz millimeter-wave radio-over-fiber photonic wireless transmission system.

We report the experimental implementation of a wireless transmission system with a 146-GHz carrier frequency which is generated by optical heterodyning the two modes from a monolithically integrated quantum dash dual-DFB source. The monolithic structure of the device and the inherent low noise characteristics of quantum dash gain material allow us to demonstrate the transmission of a 1 Gbps ON-OFF keyed data signal with the two wavelengths in a free-running state at 146-GHz carrier wave frequency. The tuning range of the device fully covers the W-band (75 - 110 GHz) and the F-band (90 - 140 GHz).

Experimental evidence of coupling effects in a twin-ridge laser.

We present for the first time (to our knowledge) experimental data on the intrinsic relaxation oscillation frequency in a twin-ridge laser array. We present a detailed analysis of the frequency response of the device, both under single-ridge operation as well as in twin ridge. We demonstrate the strong influence that the injection current on one ridge has over the relaxation oscillation frequency of the other. Using previously defined dependencies for the twin ridge, we link the imaginary part of the coupling constant to the observed variations in the relaxation oscillation frequency, proposing a procedure to determine a parameter that so far has been used as a free adjustment value.

Experimental modulation bandwidth beyond the relaxation oscillation frequency in a monolithic twin-ridge laterally coupled diode laser based on lateral mode locking.

Monolithic twin-ridge laterally coupled diode lasers emitting at 1.3microm are presented that have a small-signal modulation bandwidth beyond the relaxation oscillation frequency of a single ridge. Spectra and spectrally resolved far fields are presented for three bias conditions: only one ridge lasing, both ridges lasing just above threshold, and both ridges lasing at biases well above threshold. In the first two cases the spectrum has single-peaked longitudinal modes, whereas the third cases shows splitting to in-phase and out-of-phase modes. The splitting frequency of the optical spectrum is measured to be 7.7 GHz. Small-signal modulation measurements reveal a strong resonance at 7.7 GHz, demonstrating an effect of lateral mode locking. As a result of this effect, the twin-ridge laser can be made to have a -3-dB bandwidth beyond that associated with its relaxation oscillation frequency.

Experimental observation of noise precursors for virtual Hopf phenomena near period-doubling bifurcations in modulated diode lasers.

We present an experimental analysis of the effect of a rf amplitude modulation of the injection current in a distributed-feedback diode laser at 1.55 mum near the first period-doubling bifurcation. First experimental results of a virtual Hopf phenomenon were observed when two moving bumps with Lorentzian shapes appeared in the spectrum before the onset of the first period-doubling bifurcation occurred. We characterized this observation by increasing the amplitude of the current modulation of the diode laser until period-doubling bifurcation took place. The shape and position in the spectrum of these Lorentzian bumps were studied by the noise precursors theory, which predicts that the presence of noise will act as a virtual Hopf precursor in systems undergoing a period-doubling bifurcation.

Underlying dynamics of the pedestal components in a modulated laser diode with noise.

We demonstrate that the pedestal components observed in the power spectra of a directly modulated laser diode, which were interpreted as a sign of instability of the periodic regime, are an indication of the coexistence of a chaotic regime with the periodic one. We present the underlying dynamics behind the rise of these pedestals, showing two different situations in which the pedestals appear. In both, a periodic regime coexists with another attractor, a saddle cycle in one case and a chaotic attractor in the other. The random fluctuations included in the laser diode model allow the coexisting attractors to merge in the observed behavior of the laser.