Three-dimensional IR imaging with uncooled GaN photodiodes using nondegenerate two-photon absorption

Pattanaik, Himansu S.; Reichert, Matthew; Hagan, David J.; Stryland, Eric W. Van

doi:10.1364/oe.24.001196

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(65 reference statements)

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“…It has been shown theoretically [17] and experimentally [18] that 2PA in bulk semiconductors may be increased by over two orders of magnitude when using photons of very different energies, so called extremely nondegenerate (END) photon pairs, e.g., ħωa ≈ 10ħωb. This enhancement has been utilized for applications such as mid-IR detection [19] and 3D imaging [20]. Enhancement of 2PA translates into enhancement of 2PG, as the relation between the absorption and stimulated emission in the two-photon case is the same as for the single photon case.…”

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confidence: 99%

Observation of Nondegenerate Two-Photon Gain in GaAs

et al. 2016

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Two-photon lasers require materials with large two-photon gain (2PG) coefficients and low linear and nonlinear losses. Our previous demonstration of large enhancement of two-photon absorption in semiconductors for very different photon energies translates directly into enhancement of 2PG. We experimentally demonstrate nondegenerate 2PG in optically excited bulk GaAs via femtosecond pump-probe measurements. 2PG is isolated from other pump induced effects through the difference between measurements performed with parallel and perpendicular polarizations of pump and probe. An enhancement in the 2PG coefficient of nearly two orders-of-magnitude is reported. The results point a possible way toward two-photon semiconductor lasers.Multi-photon processes, predicted by Dirac [1], have been understood theoretically since the foundational work of Göppert-Mayer [2]. The simultaneous absorption or emission of two quanta by a single electronic transition have come to be known as two-photon absorption (2PA) and two-photon emission (2PE), respectively. 2PE may be spontaneous or stimulated by either one or two photons, referred to as singlyand doubly-stimulated [3]. Utilizing doubly-stimulated 2PE, or two-photon gain (2PG), to realize a two-photon laser (2PL) has been a goal of nonlinear optics since shortly after the invention of the original laser [4,5]. 2PL's are predicted to have many desirable properties due to the inherent nonlinearity of the gain, including pulse compression [6], self-mode-locking [7], and unique photon statistics [8,9]. While observation of 2PG has been reported in a variety of materials [3,[10][11][12][13], the development of 2PL's remains largely elusive. This is because 2PG is a weak process, and gain media suffer from various completing processes, e.g., excited state absorption, one-photon lasing, and parametric wave mixing [3]. Thus far, one group has demonstrated twophoton lasers using atomic barium [14] and potassium [15]. These, however, involved transitions from dressed states rather than eigenstates of unperturbed atoms [3]. All experimental work on 2PG thus far has focused only on the degenerate case where both emitted photons have the same frequency. However, there is no restriction on the energies of the individual photons, so long as their sum matches the energy difference between the initial and final states. Thus, 2PG may occur for both degenerate (D) and nondegenerate (ND) photon pairs.Semiconductors have been proposed as potential 2PG media [16], and recent investigations have shown D-2PG in bulk AlGaAs waveguides [13]. It has been shown theoretically [17] and experimentally [18] that 2PA in bulk semiconductors may be increased by over two orders of magnitude when using photons of very different energies, so called extremely nondegenerate (END) photon pairs, e.g., ħωa ≈ 10ħωb. This enhancement has been utilized for applications such as mid-IR detection [19] and 3D imaging [20]. Enhancement of 2PA translates into enhancement of 2PG, as the relation between the absorption and stimulated e...

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Observation of Nondegenerate Two-Photon Gain in GaAs

et al. 2016

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“…Gated detection of mid-IR pulses using END-2PA in p-i-n photodiodes have demonstrated greater sensitivity than liquid nitrogen cooled HgCdTe detectors [7]. This detection scheme has recently been used for 3D IR imaging [9], where the (nearly) instantaneous nature of the process ensures detection only when the two pulses are incident on the diode simultaneously. Depth information from reflective objects is encoded in the arrival time of the pulse to the detector, which only provides a signal when the gate pulse is synchronized, allowing for precise surface profile measurements.…”

Section: Nondegenerate Enhancement Of 2pamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are many potential practical applications of optical nonlinearities in condensed matter, including all-optical switching [1][2][3][4], optical limiting [5,6], sensing [7,8], and imaging [9,10]. Additionally, these same nonlinearities limit the performance, particularly in optical telecommunication, and can lead to unwanted absorption or even damage of solid-state devices [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nondegenerate two- and three-photon nonlinearities in semiconductors

et al. 2016

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Two-photon absorption, 2PA, in semiconductors is enhanced by two orders of magnitude due to intermediate-state resonance enhancement, ISRE, for very nondegenerate (ND) photon energies. Associated with this enhancement in loss is enhancement of the nonlinear refractive index, n2. Even larger enhancement of three-photon absorption is calculated and observed. These large nonlinearities have implications for applications including ND two-photon gain and twophoton semiconductor lasers. Calculations for enhancement of ND-2PA in quantum wells is also presented showing another order of magnitude increase in 2PA. Potential devices include room temperature gated infrared detectors for LIDAR and all-optical switches.

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“…Nondegenerate two-photon absorption (ND-2PA) is a process whereby absorption of an optical field is induced by a second, high irradiance field at a different wavelength. Applications of ND-2PA include detection [1], imaging [2], and all-optical switching [3]. Inverting carrier populations can also transform ND-2PA into nondegenerate two-photon gain [4][5][6], which is critical for realizing a two-photon semiconductor laser [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nondegenerate two-photon absorption in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well waveguides

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Pattanaik

et al. 2020

Phys. Rev. Research

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We present femtosecond pump-probe measurements of the nondegenerate (1960 nm excitation and 1176-1326 nm probe) two-photon absorption spectra of 8 nm GaAs/12 nm Al0.32Ga0.68As quantum well waveguides. Experiments were performed with light pulses co-polarized normal and tangential to the quantum well plane. The results are compared to perturbative calculations of transition rates between states determined by the k · p method with an 8 or 14 band basis. We find excellent agreement between theory and experiment for normal polarization, then use the model to support predictions of orders-of-magnitude enhancement of nondegenerate two-photon absorption as one constituent photon energy nears an intersubband resonance.

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Three-dimensional IR imaging with uncooled GaN photodiodes using nondegenerate two-photon absorption

Cited by 19 publications

References 29 publications

Observation of Nondegenerate Two-Photon Gain in GaAs

Observation of Nondegenerate Two-Photon Gain in GaAs

Nondegenerate two- and three-photon nonlinearities in semiconductors

Nondegenerate two-photon absorption in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well waveguides

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