Two-section Distributed Feedback Laser Research Articles

Modulation bandwidth enhancement in monolithic integrated two-section DFB lasers based on the detuned loading effect

Modulation bandwidth enhancement in a directly modulated two-section distributed feedback (TS-DFB) laser based on a detuned loading effect is investigated and experimentally demonstrated. The results show that the 3-dB bandwidth of the TS-DFB laser is increased to 17.6 GHz and that chirp parameter can be reduced to 2.24. Compared to the absence of a detuned loading effect, there is a 4.6 GHz increase and a 2.45 reduction, respectively. After transmitting a 10 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal through a 5-km fiber, the modulation eye diagram still achieves a large opening. Eight-channel laser arrays with precise wavelength spacing are fabricated. Each TS-DFB laser in the array has side mode suppression ratios (SMSR) > 49.093 dB and the maximum wavelength residual < 0.316 nm.

Research on an Enhanced Detuned-Loading Effect in Integrated Two-Section DFB Lasers with High Modulation Bandwidths.

A novel high-speed directly modulated two-section distributed-feedback (TS-DFB) semiconductor laser based on the detuned-loading effect is proposed and simulated. A grating structure is designed by the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp (REC) technique. A π phase shift is introduced into the reflection grating, which can provide a narrow-band reflection region with a sharp falling slope on both sides of the reflection spectrum, thus enhancing the detuned-loading effect. Owing to its unique dual-falling-edges structure, the bandwidth can be improved even when the lasing wavelength shifts beyond the left falling edge due to a thermal effect in the actual test, in which condition the detuned-loading effect can be used twice, which greatly improves the yield. The modulation bandwidth is increased from 17.5 GHz for a single DFB laser to around 24 GHz when the lasing wavelength is located on the left falling edge of the TS-DFB laser based on the detuned-loading effect, and it can be increased to 22 GHz for the right side. An eight-channel laser array with precise wavelength spacing is investigated, with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) >36 dB. In addition, TS-DFB lasers with uniform reflection gratings are studied, and simulated results show that the modulation characteristic is far inferior to the laser with a phase-shifted grating reflector.

High-speed directly modulated distributed feedback laser based on detuned loading and photon–photon resonance effect

A monolithic integrated two-section distributed feedback (TS-DFB) semiconductor laser for high-speed direct modulation is proposed and analyzed theoretically. The grating structure of the TS-DFB laser is designed by the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp (REC) technique, which can reduce the manufacturing cost and difficulty, and achieve high wavelength controlling accuracy. The detuned loading effect and the photon–photon resonance (PPR) effect are utilized to enhance the modulation bandwidth of the TS-DFB laser, exceeding 37 GHz, while that of the conventional one-section DFB laser is only 16 GHz. When the bit rate of the non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal reaches 55 Gb/s, a clear eye diagram with large opening can still be obtained. These results show that the proposed method can enhance the modulation bandwidth of DFB laser significantly.

High-power tapered two-section distributed feedback laser based on a chirped sampled grating.

We propose and theoretically study a two-section high-power distributed feedback (DFB) laser with three equivalent phase shifts (3EPSs). A tapered waveguide with a chirped sampled grating is introduced to amplify the output power and keep a stable single-mode operation. The simulation exhibits the maximum output power and side mode suppression ratio of a 1200µm length two-section DFB laser as high as 306.5mW and 40dB, respectively. Compared with traditional DFB lasers, the proposed laser has a higher output power, which may benefit wavelength division multiplexing transmission systems, gas sensors, and large-scale silicon photonics.

Modulation Bandwidth Enhancement and Frequency Chirp Suppression in Two-Section DFB Laser

We demonstrate a two-section distributed feedback (DFB) laser for direct modulation based on the reconstruction equivalent chirp (REC) technology. The two-section DFB laser exhibits a stable single-mode characteristic. Utilizing the photon-photon resonance (PPR) effect and detuned-loading effect, the 3-dB modulation bandwidth of the two-section DFB laser is improved from 8 GHz to 23 GHz. A 25 Gb/s non-return to zero (NRZ) signal is applied to the two-section DFB laser and eye diagrams with large open extent are obtained. In addition, the relative intensity noise is reduced to below −143 dB/Hz. The frequency chirp is also suppressed. The chirp parameter is reduced from 5.67 to 1.37, which is a small value in directly modulated DFB laser. We compared the eye diagrams after transmitting different distances, the results show that the two-section structure reduces the frequency chirp significantly. The modulation of the two-section DFB laser also has good linearity, with a 1-dB compression point of more than 18 dBm.

Frequency-modulated continuous-wave dual-frequency LIDAR based on a monolithic integrated two-section DFB laser

We demonstrate a high-resolution frequency-modulated continuous-wave dual-frequency LIDAR system based on a monolithic integrated two-section (TS) distributed feedback (DFB) laser. In order to achieve phase locking of the two lasers in the TS-DFB laser, the sideband optical injection locking technique is employed. A high-quality linear frequency-modulated signal is achieved from the TS-DFB laser. Utilizing the proposed LIDAR system, the distance and velocity of a target can be measured accurately. The maximum relative errors of distance and velocity measurement are 1.6% and 3.18%, respectively.

Experimental Demonstration of Directly Modulated DFB Lasers With Negative Chirp Over Wide Temperature Operation

Two-section distributed feedback lasers containing an active section and a modulated reflection section have been demonstrated for direct modulation with negative chirp. The reflection section has the same waveguide core and grating pitch as the active section. The active section of the laser has fixed current injection and the modulation voltage is loaded onto the reflection section when the laser normally works. This modulation method can obtain negative chirp because the carrier density variation in the active section during modulation is contrary to traditional current modulation. The threshold current and side-mode suppression ratio of the fabricated laser are about 10-mA and 60-dB at 20 °C, respectively. A 20-GHz modulation bandwidth at 0.9-V reverse bias of the modulated reflection section has been achieved. The negative chirp generated by the modulation is about 45 GHz. 10 Gb/s transmission over 10-km single-mode fiber with error-free-operation over a wide temperature range has been demonstrated as well. The sensitivity of the 10-km transmission was better than BTB configuration at all temperatures due to the negative chirp characteristic.

Demonstration of InP-on-Si Self-Pulsating DFB Laser Diodes for Optical Microwave Generation

We demonstrate self-pulsating heterogeneously integrated III-V-on-SOI two-section distributed feedback laser diodes, with a wide range of self-pulsation frequencies between (but not limited to) 12 and 40 GHz. The spectral width of the free-running pulsations is 40 MHz. The dependence of the self-pulsation frequency on the injected current combination and the temperature is investigated. Finally, locking the self-pulsation to an electrical RF signal with power as low as –17 dBm is demonstrated, which can be used for the generation of an optical microwave carrier with a spectral width less than 10 Hz. Such laser could be beneficial for radio-over-fiber applications.

Study on Two-Section DFB Lasers and Laser Arrays Based on the Reconstruction Equivalent Chirp Technique and Their Application in Radio-Over-Fiber Systems

Two-section distributed feedback (TS-DFB) semiconductor lasers based on the reconstruction equivalent chirp technique is proposed. A four-channel TS-DFB laser array (TS-DFB-LA) is theoretically studied and experimentally demonstrated. Compared with the conventional one-section DFB lasers, the proposed TS-DFB lasers have much higher output efficiency and higher side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) when both the facets of the laser cavity are coated with antireflection coatings. About 39% increase in output efficiency, more than 10 mA decrease in threshold current, and about 5 dB increase in SMSR have been achieved experimentally. Furthermore, experimental results show that the wavelength spacing accuracy of the four-channel TS-DFB-LA can be improved by tuning the injection current of one of the two sections. Using the two-section structure, the dynamic characteristics including small-signal frequency response, relative intensity noise, and spurious-free dynamic range are also improved significantly. A radio-over-fiber link utilizing the TS-DFB laser as directly modulated light source was experimentally achieved. About 50 MSymbol/s 64-QAM signal with 10 GHz carrier was transmitted from the TS-DFB laser. After 40 km transmission in single-mode fiber, the average error vector magnitude of the whole link is 2.97%.

전송선로 이론에 기초한 파장 변환 DFB 레이저의 정적 및 동적 작용

A longitudinal modal transmission-line theory(L-MTLT) to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of two-section distributed feedback (DFB) lasers is used. The characteristic impedance and equivalent propagation constant of DFB structure with active layer are derived from L-MTLT. A two-section DFB laser is analogous to a transmission-line network, in which each section is described by transmission-line block corresponding to the equivalent factors. The longitudinal resonant condition of DFB laser based on equivalent transmission-line network is used to reformulate the rate equations so that static and dynamic behavior of two-section DFB lasers with active layer is demonstrated and analyzed accurately.

Modeling of Self-Sustained Pulsation Based on Two-Section Distributed Feedback Lasers with Shift-Layer

We propose a numerical model to estimate the self-sustained pulsation frequency (SSP frequency) for a two-section distributed feedback laser (TS-DFB). A modulation transfer function is derived from the rate equations for carriers and photons. The SSP frequency can be obtained from the singularity condition of the transfer function. A useful but simple systematic design procedure is proposed for investigating the effects of various structural parameters on the SSP condition. The device parameters varied in the analysis include carrier density, section length ratio, grating coupling coefficient, and the refractive index change caused by adding a shift-layer. The device structure used for the SSP experiments and analysis is a TS-DFB laser with a shift-layer. This type of lasers can have stable lasing mode with large side-mode suppression ratio such that the inherent mode instability in a conventional index-guide DFB laser can be eliminated in this structure. This can simplify the operation of the SSP laser. The analysis model can also be applied to other laser structures. The results of numerical analysis match well with the experimental data.

Optical clock sources model based on two-section distributed feedback laser with shift-layer

We propose a numerical model, including modulation transform function and self-sustained pulsation condition, to estimate the self-sustained pulsation frequency, matched to the measured pulsation frequency, which considers the structure factors in a two-section distributed feedback laser with a thin shift-layer.

Two-section Bragg-wavelength-detuned DFB lasers and their applications for wavelength conversion

We propose to include a Bragg-wavelength-detuned (BWD) layer in a portion of the cavity of an index-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) laser to overcome the mode degeneracy problem. The new two-section DFB (TSDFB) lasers are experimentally demonstrated to have comparable device dimension and output characteristics as conventional DFB lasers but have much better spectral stability. High side-mode suppression ratio can be obtained over a wide range of current injection and temperature conditions when the laser is coated with anti-reflection coatings on both output facets. Wavelength tuning over 5.4 nm can be obtained by adjusting the heatsink temperature and levering the bias currents. With excellent mode stability, the TSDFB lasers are demonstrated to perform wavelength conversion with large extinction ratio, high conversion efficiency, and waveform reshaping capability. The wavelength conversion can cover 30-THz of input frequency that matches the frequency grid of the dense wavelength division multiplexing systems. Penalty-free conversion is also demonstrated.

Dynamics of all-optical clock recovery using two-section index- and gain-coupled DFB lasers

The dynamics of coherent clock recovery (CR) using self-pulsing two-section distributed feedback (TS-DFB) lasers have been investigated. Both simulation and experimental results indicate fast lockup and walk-off of the clock-recovery process on the order of nanoseconds. Phase stability of the recovered clock from a pseudorandom bit sequence (PRBS) signal can be achieved by limiting the detuning between the frequency of free-running self-pulsation and the input bit rate. The simulation results show that all-optical clock recovery using TS-DFB lasers can maintain a better than 5% clock phase stability for large variations in power, bit rate, and optical carrier frequency of the input data and therefore is suitable for applications in optical packet switching.

Self-consistent Simulation of self-pulsating two-section gain-coupled DFB lasers

The role of cavity conditions in the dynamics of two-section gain-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) lasers is investigated using a self-consistent model. Self-sustained pulsation (SSP) exists only for devices with strongly coupled DFB gratings. As the coupling strength increases, multiple SSP regimes are developed. The SSP frequency tuning range increases as cavity length decreases. The frequency and modulation index predicted by the model agree well with experimental results. The facet condition of each section is found to affect SSP differently because of the asymmetrical behavior of the modes responsible for SSP.

Single mode rate equations for two sections self-pulsating DFB laser

We propose a set of single mode rate equations for multi-section distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. On the basis of the rate equations, the self-pulsation in the two-section DFB lasers with asymmetrical injection current was explained. It was found that the dynamic distribution of the power in two sections play key role in the self-pulsation running.

Wide range tunable laterally coupled distributed-feedback lasers based on InGaAs-GaAs quantum dots

The authors have investigated tunable distributed feedback (DFB) lasers based on InGaAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Two-section tunable DFB lasers were fabricated by patterning laterally gain coupling binary superimposed gratings perpendicular to the ridge waveguide. Side-mode suppression ratios of up to 40 dB have been achieved. The tuning range covers 30 nm.

Wide-range-tunable laterally coupled distributed feedback lasers based on InGaAsP–InP

We have investigated tunable distributed feedback (DFB) lasers based on InGaAsP quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Two-section tunable DFB lasers were fabricated by patterning laterally gain coupling binary superimposed gratings perpendicular to the ridge waveguide. Side mode suppression ratios of up to 42 dB have been achieved. The tuning range covers 25 nm.

40 Gbit/s all-optical clock recovery using a two-section gain-coupled DFB laser and semiconductor optical amplifier

40 Gbit/s wavelength and polarisation insensitive all-optical clock recovery using a two-section distributed feedback (DFB) laser has been demonstrated. The polarisation sensitivity of the two-section DFB laser was solved by converting incoming data onto a local laser through cross-gain modulation using a semiconductor optical amplifier. The scheme has a sensitivity of –13 dBm.

Spatiotemporal dynamics and high-frequency self-pulsations in two-section distributed feedback lasers

We present a traveling-wave large-signal simulation of the spatiotemporal dynamics of two-section distributed feedback lasers, emphasizing the self-pulsation phenomenon. For index-coupled lasers, self-pulsation is a result of the interaction of two modes, each spatially confined primarily to one section. For partially gain-coupled lasers, self-pulsation is a result of the interaction of two modes, one that is spatially confined primarily to one section and another that belongs to both sections. The self-pulsation frequency-tuning range and the modulation index of partially gain-coupled lasers are found to be substantially larger than those of index-coupled lasers. Experimentally, self-pulsation with a frequency-tuning range from 20 to 60 GHz in two-section partially gain-coupled distributed-feedback lasers has been characterized in the electrical domain. The noise of self-pulsation was reduced experimentally by optical feedback.