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Superluminescence

Author: the photonics expert Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta (RP)

Definition: fluorescence which is enhanced by laser amplification

More general term: fluorescence

Category: article belongs to category physical foundations physical foundations

DOI: 10.61835/y76 Cite the article: BibTex plain text HTML Link to this page! LinkedIn

Superluminescence is the same as amplified spontaneous emission: the emission of luminescence which experiences significant optical gain within the emitting device, and therefore can be relatively intense. Due to the wavelength-dependent gain (with a finite gain bandwidth), the optical spectrum of the emitted light is different in shape from the spectrum of the luminescence, and the bandwidth is usually smaller.

Superluminescence is often used for generating light with a broad bandwidth, e.g. in superluminescent diodes. Such light sources are called superluminescent sources or {ASE=amplified spontaneous emission} sources. Typical examples are semiconductor optical amplifiers (then called superluminescent diodes) and fiber amplifiers, both operated without a signal input.

More to Learn

superluminescent sources superluminescent diodes amplified spontaneous emission stimulated emission luminescence

Suppliers

The RP Photonics Buyer's Guide contains 26 suppliers for superluminescent diodes. Among them:

AeroDIODE

SHIPS TODAY: SLED diodes at 1310 or 1550 nm are offered as stock items or associated with a CW laser diode driver or pulsed laser diode driver. They are compatible with our high speed nanosecond pulsed drivers . The single-mode laser SLD diodes can reach high powers in the nanosecond pulse regime. Most turn-key diode & driver solutions are optimized for single-shot to CW performances with pulse width lengths down to 1 ns. The laser diode precision pulses are generated internally by an on-board pulse generator, or on demand from an external TTL signal.

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