Upraising wavelength exactitude in laser array with spatial hole burning suppression based on the...

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Semiconductor Lasers
• Photonics

Background:

• Distributed-feedback semiconductor multiwavelength laser arrays (MLA) are crucial for optical communication.
• Spatial hole burning (SHB) in MLAs can degrade performance and limit output power.
• Existing MLA designs often struggle with uniform longitudinal photon density distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically study and experimentally demonstrate an equivalent corrugation pitch modulated MLA with two equivalently assisted phase shifts (EAPSs).
• To investigate the impact of EAPSs on longitudinal photon density distribution and spatial hole burning.
• To evaluate the single-longitudinal-mode performance, side mode suppression ratio (SMSR), and tunable wavelength range of the proposed MLA.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp technique to design the MLA with EAPSs.
• Performing theoretical simulations to analyze photon density distribution and SHB.
• Conducting experimental measurements to assess laser performance, including SMSR and wavelength tunability.

Main Results:

• Simulations showed a more uniform longitudinal photon density distribution in the MLA with EAPSs compared to conventional MLAs.
• Effective suppression of longitudinal spatial hole burning was observed.
• The demonstrated MLA exhibited good single-longitudinal-mode performance with SMSRs above 38 dB, reaching up to 52.63 dB.
• A tunable wavelength range of 25.94 nm was achieved via thermal tuning from 15.12°C to 46.93°C, with wavelength deviations within ±0.001 nm.

Conclusions:

• The proposed EAPS-based MLA design effectively mitigates spatial hole burning.
• The MLA demonstrates excellent single-longitudinal-mode operation and a broad tunable wavelength range.
• This technology holds promise for advanced optical communication systems requiring stable and tunable multiwavelength sources.