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Widely Tunable Twin-Guide Laser Diode

Research Area: III-V Semiconductor Photonic ICs

Main Researcher: Reinhard Laroy

A widely tunable twin guide (TTG) Laser Diode is a two-section TTG laser, in which both sections contain a sampled grating (SG) or a superstructure grating (SSG) with different superperiod. One can therefore make use of the Vernier effect (lasing occurs when peaks from the reflection spectra of both sections overlap) to obtain tuning over a wide range. Current injection into the tuning layer will change the effective refractive index. This change causes a shift of one of the reflection spectra so other peaks overlap and lasing happens at another frequency.

Only two tuning currents are required to obtain full wavelength coverage over a wide tuning range. Its characterisation is therefore substantially less time consuming.

A pi phase shift between both gratings causes the (S)SG-TTG to behave as a quarter-wave-shifted DFB laser for each of the overlapping reflector pairs, such that lasing always occurs at the Bragg wavelength.

The (S)SG-TTG laser has, apart from its simpler tuning scheme, also the advantage that AR-coatings are allowed and even desired at both facets and that it can easily be integrated with semiconductor optical amplifiers to boost the output power. Other advantages are its shorter length and high output power. The complex fabrication is a disadvantage.

SG and SSG-TTG laser concepts were simulated with CLADISS taking the fabrication limits into account. A first set of design parameters was obtained with a tuning range larger than 35nm and a high side-mode suppression. The first prototypes of the SG-TTG lasers demonstrated a wide tuning range (28nm in the picture below) and a high side-mode suppression. Further research and development is needed to obtain full wavelength coverage and a regular tuning behavior.

28nm tuning range of an SG-TTG laser (measured by TU Munich)
28nm tuning range of an SG-TTG laser (measured by TU Munich)

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Related Research Projects

PhD thesises

Publications

    International Journals

  1. R. Laroy, R. Todt, R. Meyer, M.-C. Amann, G. Morthier, R. Baets, Direct modulation of wideley tunable twin-guide lasers, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 18(12), p.1293-1295 doi:10.1109/lpt.2006.876752 (2006)  Download this Publication (154KB).
  2. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meyer, J. Adler, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, M.-C. Amann, Sampled grating tunable twin-guide laser diodes with wide tuning range (>40nm) and large output power (>10mW), Phys. Stat. Sol. (c), 3, p.403-406 doi:10.1002/pssc.200564133 (2006)  Download this Publication (491KB).
  3. R. Todt, T. Jacke, R. Meyer, J. Adler, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, M.-C. Amann, Sampled Grating Tunable Twin-Guide Laser Diodes With Over 40nm Electronic Tuning Range, Photonics Technology Letters, 17(12), p.2514-2516 doi:10.1109/lpt.2005.859155 (2005)  Download this Publication (287KB).
  4. R. Todt , T. Jacke , M.C. Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, R. Baets, Demonstration of Vernier effect tuning in tunable twin-guide laser diodes, IEE Proceedings-Optoelectronics, 152(2), p.66-71 doi:10.1049/ip-opt:20045018 (2005)  Download this Publication (876KB).
  5. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meier, M-C Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, Wide wavelength tuning of sampled-grating tunable twin-guide laser diodes, Electronics Letters, 40(23), p.1491 - 1492 doi:10.1049/el:20046997 (2004)  Download this Publication (238KB).
  6. G.I. J. Morthier, B. Moeyersoon, R. Baets, A Iambda/4-shifted Sampled or Superstructure Grating Widely Tunable Twin-Guide Laser, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 13(10), p.1052-1054 doi:10.1109/68.950732 (2001)  Download this Publication (80KB).
      International Conferences

    1. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meyer, J. Adler, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, M.-C. Amann, State-of-the-art performance of widely tunable twin-guide laser diodes, European Semiconductor Laser Workshop (ESLW), United Kingdom, (2005)  Download this Publication (9KB).
    2. R. Laroy, G. Morthier, R. Todt, R. Meyer, M.C.-Amann, R. Baets, Intrinsic modulation bandwidths of widely tunable SG-TTG lasers, European Semiconductor laser Workshop 2005, United Kingdom, (2005)  Download this Publication (12KB).
    3. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meyer, J. Adler, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, M.-C. Amann, Widely tunable twin-guide laser diodes with over 40 nm-tuning range, Proc. of 32nd International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors (ISCS), Germany, p.Tu3.6 (2005)  Download this Publication (721KB).
    4. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meyer, J. Adler, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, M.-C. Amann, Widely tunable twin-guide laser diodes at 1.55µm, Proc. of OptoElectronics and Communications Conference, Post-Deadline Paper PDP_07,, South Korea, p.13-14 (2005)  Download this Publication (522KB).
    5. R. Laroy, G. Morthier, R. Baets, Widely Tunable Lasers for future WDM networks, IEEE/LEOS Benelux Annual Workshop 2005 (invited), Netherlands, p.7 (2005)  Download this Publication (10KB).
    6. R. Todt, T. Jacke, R. Meyer, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, MC. Amann, Wide-wavelength tuning of sampled grating tunable twin-guide laser diodes, SPIE's Photonics West Symposium, 5738, United States, p.253-261 doi:10.1117/12.590936 (2005)  Download this Publication (1.1MB).
    7. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meier, M-C Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, Tunable twin-guide laser diodes for wide wavelength tuning at 1.55 µm, SPIE conference Optics East, 5594, United States, p.94-101 doi:10.1117/12.570237 (2004)  Download this Publication (913KB).
    8. G. Morthier, R. Laroy, I. Christiaens, R. Todt, Th. Jacke, M.-C. Amann, J-O. Wesstrom, S. Hammerfeldt, T. Mullane, N. Ryan, M. Todd, New widely tunable edge-emitting laser diodes at 1.55 µm developed in the European IST-project Newton, Asia-Pacific Optical Communications, China, doi:10.1117/12.578749 (2004)  Download this Publication (710KB).
    9. R. Laroy, G. Morthier, R. Baets, Influence of gain on reflection spectra in widely tunable lasers , European Semiconductor Laser Workshop 2004, Sweden, (2004)  Download this Publication (7KB).
    10. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meier, M-C Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, Wide wavelength tuning of sampled-grating tunable twin-guide laser diodes, European Semiconductor Laser Workshop, Sweden, (2004)  Download this Publication (7KB).
    11. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meier, M-C Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, Tuning performance of widely tunable twin-guide laser diodes, 28th WOCSDICE 2004, Slovakia, p.99-100 (2004).
    12. R. Todt, Th. Jacke, R. Meier, M-C Amann, R. Laroy, G. Morthier, Design and Fabrication of Widely Tunable Twin-Guide Laser Diodes, Semiconductor and Integrated Opto-Electronics Conference (SIOE), United Kingdom, (2004).
    13. R. Laroy, G. Morthier, René Todt, Ralf Meyer, Markus-Christian Amann, Progress on the development of a widely tunable TTG laser, IST-NEWTON Workshop on tunable laser diodes, Italy, (2003).

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