Abstract
We present a simple to process tunable laser, fabricated in a low-cost generic fabrication process and based on two coupled Fabry-Perot cavities. The complex coupling coefficients of the coupling element are analytically derived from a 3×3 MMI using coupled mode theory and chosen to maximize the SMSR during lasing operation. Additionally, one of the cavities contains a reflective interferometer, which acts as coarse wavelength selector. This interferometer is derived from a Michelson Interferometer, by replacing the two independent mirrors with our optimized coupling element, leading to a doubled Free Spectral Range. As a result, we obtained a tuning range of 26 nm with potential for beyond 40 nm, a SMSR larger than 40 dB and fiber coupled power up to 9 dBm.
Highlights
Tunable lasers are an essential element for telecommunication and enable a great variety of applications through integration into complex photonic integrated circuits based on the generic integration approach [1]
Examples are the digital super mode distributed feedback laser (DS-DBR) [2], grating Y-branch laser [3] and distributed feedback (DFB) laser arrays [4].In the second approach, the wavelength selection is achieved through tunable wavelength selective circuits, which are realized by concatenating optical filters on chip
In [21] we have shown the superior behavior of the Coupled Cavity Lasers (CCLs) with Multimode Interference devices (MMIs)-based coupling
Summary
Tunable lasers are an essential element for telecommunication and enable a great variety of applications through integration into complex photonic integrated circuits based on the generic integration approach [1]. Most tunable sources are integrated via reflective gratings or narrow bandwidth tunable optical filters. Further attempts were made using grating based coupling sections, which nontheless require high fabrication precision [14] for optimal performance. Instead of coupling two similar cavities, we include a novel reflective interferometer in one laser cavity This allows to coarsely select the lasing wavelength of the coupled system, extending the tuning range to several tens of nanometer. The interferometer is derived from a Michelson interferometer by replacing the two independent mirrors by our optimized coupling element mentioned above This adaption effectively doubles the Free Spectral Range (FSR) of the interferometer and allows for a significantly increased coarse tuning range of the coupled system. We experimentally demonstrate 26 nm tuning range, SMSR larger than 40 dB, MHz line width and a fiber coupled power up to 9 dBm
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