We have demonstrated a high-power and high-efficiency erbium:ytterbium (Er:Yb) co-doped fiber laser that produces 297 W of continuous-wave output at 1567 nm. The slope efficiency with respect to the launched pump power changed from 40% to 19% at higher output power due to the onset of Yb co-lasing at 1067 nm. However, the Yb co-lasing was essential for the suppression of catastrophic pulsation at high pump powers that otherwise results if the Ybband gain is allowed to build up. Spectroscopic characteristics of the fiber and the impact of the Yb co-lasing on the 1567 nm slope efficiency are also discussed.

The III–V compound semiconductors exhibit superb electronic and optoelectronic properties. Traditionally, closely lattice-matched epitaxial substrates have been required for the growth of high-quality single-crystal III–V thin films and patterned microstructures. To remove this materials constraint, here we introduce a growth mode that enables direct writing of single-crystalline III–V's on amorphous substrates, thus further expanding their utility for various applications. The process utilizes templated liquid-phase crystal growth that results in user-tunable, patterned micro and nanostructures of single-crystalline III–V's of up to tens of micrometres in lateral dimensions. InP is chosen as a model material system owing to its technological importance. The patterned InP single crystals are configured as high-performance transistors and photodetectors directly on amorphous SiO2 growth substrates, with performance matching state-of-the-art epitaxially grown devices. The work presents an important advance towards universal integration of III–V's on application-specific substrates by direct growth.

COMMUNICATIONAlexander Katz et al. Nanoporous gold assemblies of calixarene-phosphine-capped colloids

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Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure is connected to both physical and psychological diseases. As such, there is significant interest in developing sensors that can detect UV light in the mW/cm2 intensity range with a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this Letter, we demonstrate a UV sensor based on a silica integrated optical microcavity that has a linear operating response in both the forward and backward directions from 14 to 53 mW/cm2. The sensor response agrees with the developed predictive theory based on a thermodynamic model. Additionally, the signal-to-noise ratio is above 100 at physiologically relevant intensity levels.

We report the fabrication and characterization of straight and serpentine low loss trapezoidal silica waveguides integrated on a silicon substrate. The waveguide channel was defined using a dual photo-lithography and buffered HF etching and isolated from the silicon substrate using an isotropic silicon etchant. The waveguide is air-clad and thus has a core-cladding effective index contrast of approximately 25%. Measured at 658, 980 and 1550 nm, the propagation loss was found to be 0.69, 0.59, and 0.41 dB/cm respectively, with a critical bending radius less than 375 μm. The waveguide's polarization behavior was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Additionally, the output power shows a linear response with input power up to 200 mW.

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