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Journal of Optics

Theoretical study of optical pump process in solid gain medium based on four-energy-level model

Yongjun Ma, Zhongwei Fan, Bin Zhang, Jin Yu, Hongbo Zhang

Published Mar 5, 2018• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A semiclassical algorithm is explored to a four-energy level model, aiming to find out the factors that affect the dynamics behavior during the pump process. The impacts of pump intensity Ω p , non-radiative transition rate γ 43 and decay rate of electric dipole δ 14 are discussed in detail. The calculation results show that large γ 43 , small δ 14 , and strong pumping Ω p are beneficial to the establishing of population inversion. Under strong pumping conditions, the entire pump process can be divided into four different phases, tentatively named far-from-equilibrium process, Rabi oscillation process, quasi dynamic equilibrium process and ‘equilibrium’ process. The Rabi oscillation can slow the pumping process and cause some instability. Moreover, the duration of the entire process is negatively related to Ω p and γ 43 whereas positively related to δ 14 .

DOI
10.1088/2040-8986/aab3ee

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Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Sep 23, 2015•4 citations
Abstract A semiclassical algorithm is explored to a four-energy level model, aiming to find out the factors that affect the dynamics behavior during the pump process. The impacts of pump intensity Ω p , non-radiative transition rate γ 43 and decay rate of electric dipole δ 14 are discussed in detail. The calculation results show that large γ 43 , small δ 14 , and strong pumping Ω p are beneficial to the establishing of population inversion. Under strong pumping conditions, the entire pump process can be divided into four different phases, tentatively named far-from-equilibrium process, Rabi oscillation process, quasi dynamic equilibrium process and ‘equilibrium’ process. The Rabi oscillation can slow the pumping process and cause some instability. Moreover, the duration of the entire process is negatively related to Ω p and γ 43 whereas positively related to δ 14 .
POPULATION RATE EQUATIONS From the discussion in the preceding chapter, it is clear that population inversion is the basic condition for an optical gain. For any system in its normal state in thermal equilibrium, a low-energy level is always more populated than a high-energy level, hence there is no population inversion. Population inversion in a system can only be accomplished through a process called pumping by actively exciting the atoms in a low-energy level to a high-energy level. If left alone, the atoms in a system relax to thermal equilibrium. Therefore, population inversion is a nonequilibrium state that cannot be sustained without active pumping. To keep a constant optical gain, continuous pumping is required to maintain population inversion. This condition is clearly consistent with the law of conservation of energy: amplification of an optical wave leads to an increase in optical energy, which is possible only if the required energy is supplied by a source. Pumping is the process that supplies energy to the gain medium for the amplification of an optical wave. There are many different pumping techniques, including optical excitation, electric current injection, electric discharge, chemical reaction, and excitation with particle beams. The use of a specific pumping technique depends on the properties of the gain medium being pumped. The lasers and optical amplifiers of particular interest in photonic systems are made of either dielectric solid-state media doped with active ions, such as Nd:YAG and Er:glass fiber, or direct-gap semiconductors, such as GaAs and InP. For a dielectric gain medium, the most commonly used pumping technique is optical pumping using either an incoherent light source, such as a flashlamp or a light-emitting diode, or a coherent light source from another laser. A semiconductor gain medium can also be optically pumped, but it is usually pumped by electric current injection. In this section, we consider the general conditions for pumping to achieve population inversion. Detailed pumping mechanisms and physical setups are not addressed here because they depend on the specific gain medium used in a particular application. The net rate of increase of the population density in a given energy level is described by a rate equation. As we shall see below, pumping for population inversion in any practical gain medium always requires the participation of more than two energy levels.
We have considered the excitation spectra for a three-level atom interacting simultaneously with a strong pump field and a weak signal field. The atom consists of an upper excited state ‖2〉 and two lower states ‖1〉 and ‖3〉 where the transition ‖1〉↔‖3〉 is electric-dipole forbidden from parity considerations. The pump field, whose frequency mode ωb is initially populated, operates near resonance between the states ‖2〉 and ‖3〉, ‖2〉↔‖3〉, while the signal field describes the radiative decays ‖2〉→‖3〉 and ‖2〉→‖1〉, respectively. Using the Green function method, the spectral functions for the signal field have been calculated in the limit of high photon densities of the pump field describing the following processes: (i) one-photon process; the spectra consist of a main peak at the signal frequency ω=ω21 and a pair of sidebands at ω=ω21±Ω−(ω23−ωb)/2, where Ω2=Ω2b/2+(ω23−ωb)2/4 with Ωb and (ω23−ωb) being the Rabi frequency and the detuning of the pump field, respectively. The intensity of the main peak at ω=ω21 is positive indicating signal-field absorption while those of the sidebands are always negative implying amplification (stimulated emission) of the signal field. The sum of the intensities (in absolute value) of the sidebands is twice that of the main peak at resonance while in the off-resonance case it depends on the value of the ratio (ω23−ωb)/2Ω. (ii) Stimulated three-photon process; the spectra consists of a pair of sidebands peaked at ω=ω21−2ωb±Ω−(ω23−ωb)/2 whose intensity is negative indicating amplification. At resonance the sidebands have equal intensities but at finite detuning asymmetry arises enhancing one peak while diminishing the intensity of the other. (iii) Stimulated two-photon process; the stimulated Raman spectra consist of a peak at ω=ω31, which has a delta function distribution, and a pair of strongly amplified sidebands at ω=ω31±Ω+(ω23−ωb)/2. The computed spectra for the three processes are presented graphically for different values of Rabi frequencies and detunings.
Theoretical model of an open four-level atomic system driven by two fields was presented. The density matrix equations of motion were obtained by the electric dipole and the rotating wave approximations. Under resonance of corresponding fields, the physical mechanism of lasing without inversion (LWI) was discussed and its linear analytical solution was obtained. By numerical results, we studied the effects of the spontaneous decay rates between atomic levels, incoherent pump rate, the injection rates, and the exit rate on the gain without inversion and the population difference of the system. The difference between the linear and nonlinear gain and the population difference of the system were discussed. A LWI gain was got during the region of the spontaneous decay rates between atomic levels. The LWI gain can obtain by adjusting suitably incoherent pump rate, the atomic injection ratio and the exit rate. The curves of the linear gain and the nonlinear gain were similar with the Rabi frequencies of the driving fields. The curves of the linear population difference and the nonlinear population difference were similar too. The linear stable value of the gain was larger than the nonlinear stable value of the gain.
We have studied gain without population inversion in two similar four-level systems by employing semiclassical density-matrix formalism. If the incoherent pumping process is not taken into account, both systems can be visualized as an ideal V-type system. Along with the application of strong pump and weak probe fields, an incoherent pump field is added to each of the systems in a different configuration. It has been shown that the different mechanisms of application of an incoherent pump to the system can appreciably change the population difference between the energy levels of the strongly driven transition and results in the evolution of inversionless gain either at the line center or at the sidebands on probe detuning. The effect of inhomogeneous broadening on the probe gain has also been studied.
A nonperturbative theoretical study of four-wave-mixing processes in four-level systems is presented. Using the density-matrix formalism, numerical results are obtained for two arbitrarily intense pump fields with the third field a weak probe. The fourth wave, radiated by the system, is obtained analytically for some special cases. We find, for different frequency detunings, Rabi frequencies, and relaxation rates that the line shapes exhibit: (i) dynamic Stark splitting and shifting, and merging of resonances; (ii) power broadening with two-photon antiresonance behavior resulting from a destructive interference between different contributions to the optical polarization; and (iii) extra resonances induced by field intensities and saturation processes.
The work is aimed at modeling coherence effects in a dissipative quantum system under the semi-classical density matrix formalism. A number of multiphoton coherence effects have been shown to be feasible by controlling the incoherent pumping mechanism in a generic four-level model. The specialty of the model is in finding inversionless gain without any restrictions being imposed on the decay rates of the driven transitions. Many of the coherence effects, such as absorption cancellation, inversionless gain at the line center, and sidebands of an absorptive line shape accompanied by dispersive switching, are explained using the same model under different parametric conditions. Further, it is shown that modulation in the coherence effects can effectively be controlled by the two- and three-photon excitation mechanisms with the proper choice of the rates of incoherent pumping under a stimulated Raman process. Different conditions of population inversion are found for both coherent and incoherent control of stimulated Raman resonance. In addition to Raman gain, gain without inversion in any standard state basis is found to be achieved in our present model. The proposed scheme can have potential application in controlling the properties of an optical field on propagation through rare earth ion-doped fiber material or other solid-state, as well as atomic, media.