Mode control and direct modulation for waveguide-coupled square microcavity lasers

Abstract

Lasing mode control and direct modulation characteristics have been investigated for waveguide-coupled unidirectional-emission square microcavity lasers. A quasi-analytical model is introduced to analyze the mode field distributions and quality (Q) factors for the confined modes inside the square optical microcavities with directly coupled waveguide, where high-Q whispering-gallery-like (WG-like) modes are induced by the mode coupling between doubly-degenerate modes. AlGaInAs/InP waveguide-coupled unidirectional-emission square microcavity lasers are fabricated by using standard planar technology, and electrically-injected lasing is realized at room temperature. The lasing modes are controlled by properly designing the lasing cavity, output waveguide and injection pattern. Dual-transverse-mode lasing with a tunable wavelength interval from 0.25 to 0.39 nm is realized by using a spatially selective current injection to modulate the refractive index, as the mode field distributions of different transverse are spatially separated. The wavelength interval can be further increased to a few nanometers by reducing the cavity size and replacing the flat sidewalls with circular arcs. The field distributions of WG-like modes distribute uniformly in square microcavity, which avoid the burning-induced carrier diffusion in high-speed direct modulation. A small-signal modulation 3dB bandwidth exceeding 16 GHz, and an open eye diagram at 25 Gb/s are demonstrated for the high-speed direct modulated square microcavity laser.