Abstract
We describe a chip-scale version of a multiwavelength modelocked semiconductor laser that produces discrete wavelength channels on a 25 GHz grid in the 1550 nm spectral region. The laser utilizes a two-section semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) device in a partially external cavity which enables tuning of the laser cavity length. Since the wavelength channels are simply the longitudinal modes of the laser cavity, the channel spacing can be easily adjusted to match arbitrary wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) protocols. The hybridly modelocked semiconductor laser produces 5 ps FWHM pulses at 25 GHz pulse-repetition rate. Conversely, we demultiplex individual axial modes and employ them as continuous wave (CW) WDM sources. The modes are characterized through relative intensity noise (RIN) measurement as well as eye-diagrams of pseudorandom data imposed by an external modulator. The modelocked laser functions dually as a compact source of high speed, ultrashort pulses and as an economical source of CW WDM channels.
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