Publications
Articles in Refereed Journals
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L. Mertenskötter, M. Kantner, Frequency noise characterization of narrow-linewidth lasers: A Bayesian approach, IEEE Photonics Journal, 16 (2024), pp. 0601407/1--0601407/7, DOI 10.1109/JPHOT.2024.3385184 .
Abstract
We describe a Bayesian estimation approach to infer on the frequency noise characteristics of narrow-linewidth semiconductor lasers from delayed self-heterodyne beat note measurements. Our technique is grounded in a statistical model of the measurement process that accounts for both the impact of the interferometer and the detector noise. The approach yields accurate results, even in scenarios where the intrinsic linewidth plateau is obscured by detector noise. The analysis is carried out using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo method in the frequency domain and exploits prior knowledge about the statistical distribution of the data. The method is validated using simulated time series data from a stochastic laser rate equation model incorporating 1/f -type non-Markovian noise. -
M. Kantner, L. Mertenskötter, Accurate evaluation of self-heterodyne laser linewidth measurements using Wiener filters, Optics Express, 31 (2023), pp. 15994--16009, DOI 10.1364/OE.485866 .
Abstract
Self-heterodyne beat note measurements are widely used for the experimental characterization of the frequency noise power spectral density (FN-PSD) and the spectral linewidth of lasers. The measured data, however, must be corrected for the transfer function of the experimental setup in a post-processing routine. The standard approach disregards the detector noise and thereby induces reconstruction artifacts, i.e., spurious spikes, in the reconstructed FN-PSD. We introduce an improved post-processing routine based on a parametric Wiener filter that is free from reconstruction artifacts, provided a good estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio is supplied. Building on this potentially exact reconstruction, we develop a new method for intrinsic laser linewidth estimation that is aimed at deliberate suppression of unphysical reconstruction artifacts. Our method yields excellent results even in the presence of strong detector noise, where the intrinsic linewidth plateau is not even visible using the standard method. The approach is demonstrated for simulated time series from a stochastic laser model including 1 / f-type noise. -
O. Marquardt, Simulating the electronic properties of semiconductor nanostructures using multiband $kcdot p$ models, Computational Materials Science, 194 (2021), pp. 110318/1--110318/11, DOI 10.1016/j.commatsci.2021.110318 .
Abstract
The eight-band $kcdot p$ formalism been successfully applied to compute the electronic properties of a wide range of semiconductor nanostructures in the past and can be considered the backbone of modern semiconductor heterostructure modelling. However, emerging novel material systems and heterostructure fabrication techniques raise questions that cannot be answered using this well-established formalism, due to its intrinsic limitations. The present article reviews recent studies on the calculation of electronic properties of semiconductor nanostructures using a generalized multiband $kcdot p$ approach that allows both the application of the eight-band model as well as more sophisticated approaches for novel material systems and heterostructures. -
H. Wenzel, M. Kantner, M. Radziunas, U. Bandelow, Semiconductor laser linewidth theory revisited, APPS. Applied Sciences, 11 (2021), pp. 6004/1--6004/29, DOI 10.3390/app11136004 .
Abstract
More and more applications require semiconductor lasers distinguished not only by large modulation bandwidths or high output powers, but also by small spectral linewidths. The theoretical understanding of the root causes limiting the linewidth is therefore of great practical relevance. In this paper, we derive a general expression for the calculation of the spectral linewidth step by step in a self-contained manner. We build on the linewidth theory developed in the 1980s and 1990s but look from a modern perspective, in the sense that we choose as our starting points the time-dependent coupled-wave equations for the forward and backward propagating fields and an expansion of the fields in terms of the stationary longitudinal modes of the open cavity. As a result, we obtain rather general expressions for the longitudinal excess factor of spontaneous emission (K-factor) and the effective Alpha-factor including the effects of nonlinear gain (gain compression) and refractive index (Kerr effect), gain dispersion and longitudinal spatial hole burning in multi-section cavity structures. The effect of linewidth narrowing due to feedback from an external cavity often described by the so-called chirp reduction factor is also automatically included. We propose a new analytical formula for the dependence of the spontaneous emission on the carrier density avoiding the use of the population inversion factor. The presented theoretical framework is applied to a numerical study of a two-section distributed Bragg reflector laser.
Contributions to Collected Editions
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L. Mertenskötter, M. Kantner, Bayesian estimation of laser linewidth from delayed self-heterodyne measurements, Conference on Structural Nonlinear Dynamics and Diagnosis (CSNDD 2023), Marrakesh, Morocco, May 15 - 17, 2024, M. Belhaq, ed., 301 of Springer Proceedings in Physics, Springer, Singapur, 2024, pp. 269--279, DOI 10.1007/978-981-99-7958-5_21 .
Abstract
We present a statistical inference approach to estimate the frequency noise characteristics of ultra-narrow linewidth lasers from delayed self-heterodyne beat note measurements using Bayesian inference. Particular emphasis is on estimation of the intrinsic (Lorentzian) laser linewidth. The approach is based on a statistical model of the measurement process, taking into account the effects of the interferometer as well as the detector noise. Our method therefore yields accurate results even when the intrinsic linewidth plateau is obscured by detector noise. The regression is performed on periodogram data in the frequency domain using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo method. By using explicit knowledge about the statistical distribution of the observed data, the method yields good results already from a single time series and does not rely on averaging over many realizations, since the information in the available data is evaluated very thoroughly. The approach is demonstrated for simulated time series data from a stochastic laser rate equation model with 1 / f-type non-Markovian noise. -
L. Ermoneit, B. Schmidt, J. Fuhrmann, Th. Koprucki, L.R. Schreiber, M. Kantner, Simulation of single-electron shuttling for spin-qubit transport in a SiGe quantum bus, in: Book of Abstracts of the International Workshop on Computational Nanotechnology 2023 (IWCN 2023), X. Orios Plaedvall, G. Abadal Berini, X. Cartoixà Soler, A. Cummings, C.F. Destefani, D. Jiménez Jiménez, J. Mart'in Mart'inez, R. Rodr'iguez Mart'inez, A. Benali, eds., pp. 88-89.
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M. Kantner, L. Mertenskötter, Estimation of frequency noise characteristics and data-driven modeling of narrow-linewidth semiconductor lasers, in: 23nd International Conference on Numerical Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices (NUSOD 2023), P. Bardella, A. Tibaldi, eds., IEEE, 2023, pp. 55--56, DOI 10.1109/NUSOD59562.2023.10273522 .
Abstract
The design of narrow-linewidth lasers requires stochastic laser models providing a realistic description of the noise in the device. We present a statistical inference approach to extract the frequency noise characteristics and model parameters of narrow-linewidth lasers from delayed self-heterodyne beat note experiments. By exploiting prior knowledge about the statistical distribution of the measurement data, accurate estimates of the parameters of the free running laser can be achieved even in the presence of considerable detector noise. The approach is demonstrated for simulated time series data using a stochastic laser rate equation model including 1/ftype noise. -
M. Kantner, L. Mertenskötter, Wiener-filter enhanced estimation of the intrinsic laser linewidth from delayed self-heterodyne beat note measurements, in: 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC), IEEE, 2023, pp. 88--89, DOI 10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232191 .
Abstract
Narrow-linewidth lasers exhibiting low phase noise are core elements of coherent optical communication systems, gravitational wave interferometers and emerging quantum technologies (e.g., optical atomic clocks, matter-wave interferometers, ion-trap quantum-computers etc.). For many of these applications, the performance depends critically on the laser's intrinsic (Lorentzian) linewidth [1], which is typically obscured by additional 1/f-like technical noise. Because of this so-called flicker noise, the laser linewidth alone is not a well-defined quantity and needs to be specified for a given measurement time. For a detailed characterization of the frequency noise exhibited by the laser, the measurement of the frequency noise power spectral density (FN-PSD) is required. -
M. Kantner, L. Mertenskötter, Data-driven modeling of non-Markovian noise in semiconductor lasers, in: 22nd International Conference on Numerical Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices (NUSOD), Turin, Italy, 2022, J. Piprek, P. Bardella, eds., IEEE, 2022, pp. 57--58, DOI 10.1109/NUSOD54938.2022.9894788 .
Abstract
Non-Markovian noise degrades the coherence properties of semiconductor lasers and contributes significantly to broadening of the linewidth. Since modeling of such colored noise systems from first principles is not accessible, we aim for a data-driven modeling approach in which a system of stochastic rate equations shall be reconstructed from time series data.
Preprints, Reports, Technical Reports
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L. Ermoneit, B. Schmidt, Th. Koprucki, J. Fuhrmann, T. Breiten, A. Sala, N. Ciroth, R. Xue, L.R. Schreiber, M. Kantner, Optimal control of conveyor-mode spin-qubit shuttling in a Si/SiGe quantum bus in the presence of charged defects, Preprint no. 3082, WIAS, Berlin, 2023, DOI 10.20347/WIAS.PREPRINT.3082 .
PDF (9473 kByte)
External Preprints
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M. Kantner, L. Mertenskötter, Accurate evaluation of self-heterodyne laser linewidth measurements using Wiener filters, Preprint no. arXiv:2301.10645, Cornell University, 2023, DOI 10.48550/arXiv.2301.10645 .
Abstract
Self-heterodyne beat note measurements are widely used for the experimental characterization of the frequency noise power spectral density (FN-PSD) and the spectral linewidth of lasers. The measured data, however, must be corrected for the transfer function of the experimental setup in a post-processing routine. The standard approach disregards the detector noise and thereby induces reconstruction artifacts, i.e., spurious spikes, in the reconstructed FN-PSD. We introduce an improved post-processing routine based on a parametric Wiener filter that is free from reconstruction artifacts, provided a good estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio is supplied. Building on this potentially exact reconstruction, we develop a new method for intrinsic laser linewidth estimation that is aimed at deliberate suppression of unphysical reconstruction artifacts. Our method yields excellent results even in the presence of strong detector noise, where the intrinsic linewidth plateau is not even visible using the standard method. The approach is demonstrated for simulated time series from a stochastic laser model including 1 / f-type noise.
