Abstract
Peak gain wavelength tuning via the gain-lever effect is demonstrated in segmented contact InP quantum dot Fabry–Perot lasers. A tuning range of 6.5 ± 0.1 nm was recorded in the lasing spectra of a 1.9 mm long broad area device operating at 22°C. The authors clarify the nature of the tuning mechanism and identify the critical material and device parameters that determine the limits of the wavelength tuning range.
Highlights
Wavelength tunable semiconductor lasers are important for applications in telecoms [1, 2] and optical sensing [3,4,5]
There are three main approaches to wavelength tuning with semiconductor lasers: external cavity lasers (ECLs) [7], distributed feedback (DFB) arrays [8] and sampled-grating distributed Bragg reflector (SG-DBR) devices [9]
We demonstrate how large-scale wavelength tuning can be achieved in FP lasers using the gain-lever effect to tune the wavelength peak of an InP quantum dot active material
Summary
Wavelength tunable semiconductor lasers are important for applications in telecoms [1, 2] and optical sensing [3,4,5]. SG-DBR devices, on the other hand, can have fast tuning rates (of the order of nanoseconds) but precise control of as many as five separate inputs is required to isolate the desired wavelength making them more complex to manufacture and operate. In each of these approaches, a mode selection filter generated by optical feedback is tuned across the material gain spectrum to select a single axial mode of the laser cavity. The wavelength of the laser, is not determined by the peak of the gain spectrum as it is in a simple Fabry–Perot (FP) laser, but by the peak of the optical feedback spectrum
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