Ring-resonator-integrated tunable external cavity laser employing EAM and SOA.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• External cavity lasers (ECLs) are crucial for tunable wavelength applications.
• Integrating multiple optical components into a single chip enhances laser performance and miniaturization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel tunable external cavity laser (ECL).
• To integrate a polymer Bragg reflector (PBR) with a gain chip, ring resonator, electro-absorption modulator (EAM), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA).

Main Methods:

• Constructed a laser cavity using a PBR, gain chip, and ring resonator.
• Utilized the ring resonator to reflect specific wavelengths into the gain region.
• Employed the thermal-optic effect of the PBR for discrete wavelength tuning.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a tunable ECL with discrete wavelength steps of approximately 0.8 nm.
• Successfully integrated a PBR, gain chip, ring resonator, EAM, and SOA.
• The ring resonator selectively reflected wavelengths and transmitted the output signal.

Conclusions:

• The proposed tunable ECL design is feasible and offers discrete wavelength tuning.
• Integration of PBR with other optical components provides a compact and efficient tunable laser solution.
• This technology has potential applications in optical communications and sensing.