Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
08:39
Shaping the Amplitude and Phase of Laser Beams by Using a Phase-only Spatial Light Modulator
Published on: January 28, 2019
Classical phase space revealed by coherent light
Tomoko Tanaka1, Martina Hentschel, Takehiro Fukushima
1Department of Nonlinear Science, ATR Wave Engineering Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0228, Japan.
Physical Review Letters
|March 16, 2007
Summary
Researchers investigated oval-resonator laser diodes, revealing that their far-field patterns depend heavily on cavity shape. Ray-model simulations confirmed the link between classical phase space and lasing characteristics in these quantum well devices.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Quantum Optics
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Oval-resonator laser diodes utilize quantum wells for light emission.
- Understanding far-field characteristics is crucial for device performance and applications.
- Classical dynamics, including chaos and mixed behaviors, can influence optical systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the far-field characteristics of oval-resonator laser diodes.
- To explore the impact of various oval resonator geometries on lasing properties.
- To correlate experimental findings with theoretical models based on classical dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of Gallium Arsenide/Aluminum Gallium Arsenide (GaAs/Al(x)Ga(1-x)As) quantum well laser diodes with diverse oval resonator shapes.
- Experimental measurement of far-field emission patterns.
- Ray-model simulations of Fresnel billiards to model light propagation within the resonators.
Main Results:
- The far-field patterns exhibit a distinct fine structure.
- This fine structure is highly sensitive to the specific geometry of the oval cavity.
- Experimental results show strong agreement with ray-model simulations for all tested geometries.
Conclusions:
- The underlying classical phase space significantly influences the lasing characteristics of oval-resonator diodes.
- Ray dynamics provide an effective framework for understanding the observed far-field patterns.
- Cavity shape is a critical design parameter for tailoring the optical output of these devices.
Related Concept Videos
02:18Interference and Diffraction
Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
01:21Phase Transitions
A phase transition is the process in which a substance changes from one state of matter to another, like from a solid to a liquid, liquid to gas, or vice versa, at a specific temperature and under given pressure conditions. This change is spontaneous and is affected by alterations in temperature and pressure. These parameters impact the strength of the forces between molecules (intermolecular forces) in the substance.During a phase transition, both the initial and final phases of the substance...
02:31Phase Transitions
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to occupy...
01:24Time and frequency -Domain Interpretation of Phase-lead Control
Phase-lead controllers are commonly used in various control systems to enhance response speed and stability. Adjusting the brightness on a television screen offers a practical example of phase-lead control. When contrast is enhanced, a phase-lead controller is employed. Mathematically, phase-lead control is identified when the first parameter is smaller than the second.
The design of phase-lead control involves the strategic placement of poles and zeros to balance steady-state error and system...
The design of phase-lead control involves the strategic placement of poles and zeros to balance steady-state error and system...
01:19Phase Changes
Phase transitions play an important theoretical and practical role in the study of heat flow. In melting or fusion, a solid turns into a liquid; the opposite process is freezing. In evaporation, a liquid turns into a gas; the opposite process is condensation.
A substance melts or freezes at a temperature called its melting point and boils or condenses at its boiling point. These temperatures depend on pressure. High pressure favors the denser form of the substance, so typically, high pressure...
A substance melts or freezes at a temperature called its melting point and boils or condenses at its boiling point. These temperatures depend on pressure. High pressure favors the denser form of the substance, so typically, high pressure...