Athermal operation of multi-section slotted tunable lasers

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Semiconductor Lasers
• Optical Communications

Background:

• Athermal laser operation is crucial for stable performance in optical communication systems.
• Traditional methods for achieving athermal laser performance often involve complex and costly designs.
• Three-section slotted lasers offer a potentially lower-cost alternative but require specific strategies for thermal stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate athermal bias current procedures for a monolithic, three-section slotted single mode laser.
• To achieve mode-hop-free wavelength stability over a specified temperature range.
• To evaluate the potential of this cost-effective laser design for dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of two distinct athermal bias current procedures.
• Utilizing thermal tuning for wavelength stabilization.
• Employing an analytical model and thermoreflectance measurements for operational insight.

Main Results:

• Achieved mode-hop-free wavelength stability of ± 0.04 nm / 5 GHz over a temperature range of 8-47 °C.
• Demonstrated athermal performance in a simple-fabrication, three-section slotted laser for the first time.
• Performance is comparable to more complex distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) lasers.

Conclusions:

• Strong athermal performance is achievable with lower-cost three-section slotted lasers.
• The demonstrated performance meets the stringent requirements for DWDM systems.
• The developed analytical model and measurements provide a foundation for optimizing athermal laser designs.