4*10 Gbps WDM communication system based on a tunable V-cavity semiconductor laser

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Optical Communications
• Semiconductor Lasers

Background:

• Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is crucial for high-capacity optical fiber communication.
• Tunable lasers are essential components for flexible WDM systems.
• V-cavity tunable semiconductor lasers (VCLs) offer potential advantages in terms of size and tunability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of a V-cavity tunable semiconductor laser (VCL) as a transmitter in a WDM optical fiber communication link.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using VCLs for wavelength routing in optical networks.
• To demonstrate the capabilities of VCLs in terms of tuning range, channel capacity, and signal quality.

Main Methods:

• A 1550 nm VCL was employed as the transmitter in a 20 km optical fiber communication link.
• The system operated at a data rate of 40 Gbps.
• Experimental measurements included eye diagram analysis, bit error rate (BER) assessment, wavelength tuning range, channel spacing, and side mode suppression ratio (SMSR).

Main Results:

• A stable 40 Gbps WDM optical fiber communication link was established over 20 km with a clear eye diagram and low BER.
• The VCL demonstrated a wavelength tuning range of 25 nm.
• The laser supported 32 channels with a 100 GHz frequency interval and achieved an average SMSR above 39 dB.

Conclusions:

• The experimental results validate the effectiveness of VCLs in WDM optical communication systems.
• VCLs exhibit significant potential for wavelength routing applications in optical networking.
• The demonstrated performance metrics highlight the suitability of VCLs for future high-capacity communication networks.