A method for operating a power management device for controlling an operating device connected to a power supply network, in which the maximum demanded and/or provided output of the controlled operating device is at least 3 kW, is disclosed. An information data set is received which describes coupling information or a temporal progression of coupling information from a server device associated with a network provider of a power supply network, the coupling information describing a relationship between a device load of the operating device and a target variable to be optimized. A load profile is determined which describes a predicted temporal progression of the device load by optimizing the load profile with respect to the target variable. The load profile is provided to the server device, and the power management device may control the operating device according to a default value which is predetermined based on the load profile.

In an example, a tandem pumped fiber amplifier may include a seed laser, one or more diode pumps, and a single or plural active core fiber. The single or plural active core fiber may include a first section to operate as an oscillator and a second different section to operate as a power amplifier. The one or more diode pumps may be optically coupled to the first section of the single or plural active core fiber, and the seed laser may be optically coupled to the single active core or an innermost core of the plural active core fiber.

Systems and methods for a self-injection locked SBS laser are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a system includes a pump laser source providing a pump laser; an SBS resonator receiving the pump laser through a first port and scattering some of the pump laser to provide an SBS laser through the first port, wherein a frequency shift of Brillouin scattering within the SBS resonator is an integer multiple of a free-spectral range for the SBS resonator; a filter receiving the pump laser on a first filter port and the SBS laser on a second filter port, wherein the pump laser is output through the second filter port and the SBS laser is output through a drop port; and a pump laser path coupling the output pump laser into the pump laser source, wherein a frequency of the pump laser becomes locked to a resonance frequency of the SBS resonator.

A photonic synthesizer includes a multifrequency optical source to produce a signal of interest from a pair of lasers, which may be self-injection locked chip lasers. The signal is referenced to a high frequency clock using a photonic mixer/divider based on an electro-optical modulator and a relatively slow photodiode. The electro-optical modulator produces optical harmonics from the beams from the pair of lasers, where one harmonic from the first laser beam and one harmonic from the second laser beam beat on the photodiode. A phase locked control signal is generated for controlling the output frequency of one or both of the two lasers. The output signal of the photonic synthesizer is generated using a relatively fast photodiode based on a difference in frequencies of the pair of lasers. The output signal may be a millimeter wave-band signal. The photonic synthesizer can be formed as a photonic integrated circuit (PIC).

A non-reciprocal optical assembly for injection locking a laser to a resonator is described. The laser emits a light beam, and the resonator receives the light beam and returns a feedback light beam to the laser such that the feedback light beam causes injection locking. The non-reciprocal optical assembly is interposed between and optically coupled to the laser and the resonator. The non-reciprocal optical assembly includes a first port that receives the light beam from the laser, and a second port that outputs the light beam to the resonator and receives the feedback light beam from the resonator. The first port also outputs the feedback light beam to the laser. The light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a first power loss, and the feedback light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a second power loss (the first power loss differs from the second power loss).

Systems and methods for a self-injection locked SBS laser are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a system includes a pump laser source providing a pump laser; an SBS resonator receiving the pump laser through a first port and scattering some of the pump laser to provide an SBS laser through the first port, wherein a frequency shift of Brillouin scattering within the SBS resonator is an integer multiple of a free-spectral range for the SBS resonator; a filter receiving the pump laser on a first filter port and the SBS laser on a second filter port, wherein the pump laser is output through the second filter port and the SBS laser is output through a drop port; and a pump laser path coupling the output pump laser into the pump laser source, wherein a frequency of the pump laser becomes locked to a resonance frequency of the SBS resonator.

In an example, a tandem pumped fiber amplifier may include a seed laser, one or more diode pumps, and a single or plural active core fiber. The single or plural active core fiber may include a first section to operate as an oscillator and a second different section to operate as a power amplifier. The one or more diode pumps may be optically coupled to the first section of the single or plural active core fiber, and the seed laser may be optically coupled to the single active core or an innermost core of the plural active core fiber.

An FM LIDAR system is described that includes a frequency modulated LIDAR system that incorporates a laser source that is optically coupled to a whispering gallery mode optical resonator. Light from the laser that is coupled into the whispering gallery mode optical resonator is coupled back out as a returning counterpropagating wave having a frequency characteristic of a whispering gallery mode of the optical resonator. This returning wave is used to reduce the linewidth of the source laser by optical injection. Modulation of the optical properties of the whispering gallery mode optical resonator results in modulation of the frequency of the frequencies supported by whispering gallery modes of the resonator, and provides a method for producing highly linear and reproducible optical chirps that are highly suited for use in a LIDAR system. Methods of using such an FM LIDAR system and vehicle assisting systems that incorporate such FM LIDAR systems are also described.

A sensor system includes a self-mixing interferometry sensor; a drive circuit configured to apply a modulated drive signal to an input of the self-mixing interferometry sensor; a mixer circuit configured to mix a modulated output of the self-mixing interferometry sensor with a local oscillator signal that is orthogonal to the modulated drive signal over a period of time; an integrator circuit configured to integrate an output of the mixer circuit over the period of time; and a processor configured to determine, using an output of the integrator circuit, at least one of a round-trip propagation time of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the self-mixing interferometry sensor and reflected back into the self-mixing interferometry sensor by an object or medium, or a velocity of the object or medium.

A tunable laser device based on silicon photonics includes a substrate configured with a patterned region comprising one or more vertical stoppers, an edge stopper facing a first direction, a first alignment feature structure formed in the patterned region along the first direction, and a bond pad disposed between the vertical stoppers. Additionally, the tunable laser includes an integrated coupler built in the substrate located at the edge stopper and a laser diode chip including a gain region covered by a P-type electrode and a second alignment feature structure formed beyond the P-type electrode. The laser diode chip is flipped to rest against the one or more vertical stoppers with the P-type electrode attached to the bond pad and the gain region coupled to the integrated coupler. Moreover, the tunable laser includes a tuning filter fabricated in the substrate and coupled via a wire waveguide to the integrated coupler.