Compact Tunable Laser Array for WDM-PON in 5G wireless networks

A 16-channel electroabsorption modulated tunable multi-wavelength DFB laser array is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sixteen DFB lasers, each with a wavelength spacing of 100 GHz, are arranged in a 4 × 4 matrix. The wavelengths are designed using an interleaving scheme to reduce grating crosstalk. The grating is designed and fabricated using the reconstruction equivalent chirp (REC) technique to simplify the grating fabrication and ensure precise wavelength control. The electroabsorption modulator and the tunable multi-wavelength laser array share the same active layer to reduce fabrication complexity and costs. Wavelength tuning is achieved by selecting the active laser without altering the thermoelectric cooler (TEC). Consequently, 16 channels with 100 GHz spacing are obtained, each operating in good single-mode properties with SMSRs of above 45 dB. The average wavelength spacing is 106.1 GHz, and only 6.1 GHz deviated from the design. The semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is integrated to compensate for the frequency chirp and amplify the output power, thus enabling long-distance transmission. The output power is amplified to over 18 mW with a 150 mA current injected into the SOA. The 3-dB bandwidth of the EAM exceeds 20 GHz, producing clear 25 Gb/s back-to-back eye diagrams with mask margins over 40% for the 16 channels. With the assistance of the chirp compensation by the SOA, the eye diagrams of the 16 channels remain clear after 10 km of transmission. Due to the superior performance, the proposed device is promising for use in DWDM systems, particularly in applications requiring fast channel switching, such as optical packet switching and NG-PON2 technology.

We discuss the design, fabrication, and performance of experimental multiwavelength laser array transmitters that have been used in the reconfigurable optical network testbed for the Optical Network Technology Consortium (ONTC). The experimental four-node multiwavelength network testbed is SONET/ATM compatible. It has employed multiwavelength DFB laser arrays with 4 nm wavelength spacing for the first time. The testbed has demonstrated that multiwavelength DFB laser arrays are indeed practical and reproducible. For the DFB laser arrays used in such a network the precise wavelength spacing in the array and the absolute wavelength control are the most challenging tasks. We have obtained wavelength accuracy better than /spl plusmn/0.35 nm for all lasers, with some registered to better than /spl plusmn/0.2 nm. We have also studied the array yield of our devices and used wavelength redundancy to improve the array yield. Coupling efficiencies between -2.1 to -4.5 dB for each wavelength channel have been obtained. It is achieved by using specially designed lensed fiber arrays placed on a silicon V-grooved substrate to exactly match the laser spacing. The transmitter consisted of a multichip module containing a DFB laser array, an eight-channel driver array based on GaAs IC's, and associated RF circuitry.

Multi-wavelength distributed feedback laser array (DFB-MLA) based tunable semiconductor lasers have been widely used owing to the high mode stability and simple wavelength tuning scheme. In this paper, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated a matrix-grating tunable DFB laser array. And the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp (REC) technique is utilized to simplify grating fabrication and realize precise control of the grating phase. Traditionally, the laser is tuned by thermal-electric cooler (TEC), with large power consumption, slow wavelength tuning capability, and added device. To improve the wavelength tuning speed of laser, we varied laser's injection current instead of adjusting TEC's temperature. In addition, we analyzed the thermal influence of submount on the laser and then chose the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> as the submount material for its low thermal conductivity and poor heat dissipation, resulting in wide wavelength tuning range via injection current. The DFB-MLA chip achieves a better tunable effect as the lasers can be tuned at 3.5-3.7 nm per channel from 50 to 120 mA with stable output power of over 3 mw as contrasted with the laser on the AlN submount being tuned at 1.4-1.5 nm per channel. And the chip has a side-mode suppressing ratio (SMSR) of over 35 dB and strong stability of wavelength in the repeated experiments. The proposed method may give a new way to realize the wide tuning range tunable DFB laser with a simple wavelength tuning mechanism in the future, especially for the applications of uncooled low-cost tunable lasers.

To realize a high-speed high-reliability wavelength switching at future WDM networks, we proposed the injection current/temperature cooperative control method of the tunable-distributed-feedback (DFB) laser array (TLA) for avoiding a large injection current, which is the primary cause of laser degradation. We successfully demonstrated a full-C-band wavelength switching within 124 ms by rapid increase of the injection current and following gradual decrease of the injection current to avoid laser aging. Compared to the conventional control method, the meantime to failure of the TLA in the proposed method is estimated to be extended by 44 times.

We studied a high-speed high-reliability wavelength switching at 400-GHz width, which is the maximum tuning range of a single DFB laser in the tunable DFB laser array (TLA). By improving the accuracy of current/temperature cooperative feedback control, we achieved a high-speed wavelength switching time of 130 ms as well as a low injection current of 52 mA.

We fabricated a compact 10-Gb/s-wavelength tunable laser module by integrating a tunable DFB laser array and an InP-based n-i-n Mach-Zehnder modulator in one package. We developed a multichip assembly technology to realize high optical coupling efficiency and achieved a continuous-wave output power of +6.5 dBm. We demonstrated a full C-band 10-Gb/s optical duobinary transmission with a constant modulation voltage of 2.4 V <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">pp</sub> . And we achieved a 200-km single-mode-fiber transmission with a power penalty of less than 1.0 dB over the entire C-band range.

We discuss the advantages of wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) lightwave systems and the need for monolithically integrated multiwavelength laser arrays. For WDM light-wave systems to be cost effective, it is important to reduce the per-wavelength component cost. By photonic integration, the packaging and the control circuitry will be shared among all the wavelengths. In this paper, we review the multiwavelength laser arrays, the array coupling, and the photonic integration approach. We have demonstrated the monolithic integration of a 21-wavelength multi-quantum-well distributed-feedback laser array with a star coupler and optical amplifiers on the same chip. Operating a packaged module under CW operation, we obtained as many as 15 individual wavelengths simultaneously launched from one output port of the star coupler of this integrated chip into one lensed single-mode fiber. We also characterized the thermal and the electrical crosstalk from the neighboring lasers. This integrated chip stands a good chance of being a compact and low-cost multiwavelength laser source for future WDM lightwave systems.

Wavelength multiplexing and tuning capabilities are highly important for applications in optical interconnects and optical communications using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). We review novel methods and experimental results to achieve these functions in vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), we believe for the first time. By implementing spatially chirped layers in the laser cavities and obliquely aligning the array axes to the thickness chirp direction, we obtained 7 × 20 VCSEL array emitting 140 unique, non-redundant, controllable, uniformly separated single-mode wavelengths. A large total wavelength span of 43 nm is obtained without compromising the performance of the lasers. Moreover, our techniques are generic and can be readily extended to other wavelength regimes. In addition, we describe our work on wavelength-tunable VCSELs with a 1.8-nm (~540 GHz) continuous tuning and no mode hopping. The laser output power remains nearly constant throughout the tuning range. The wavelength tuning speed is ~400 ns. The multiple wavelength tunable laser arrays are promising for achieving ultrahigh bandwidth (hundreds Gbit/sec to Tbit/sec), high redundancy and reliability, reconfigurable optical networks.

A multi-wavelength laser source is important for applications in areas such as wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), interferometry, lidar and optical data storage. Simultaneous oscillation of multipe wavelengths have been demonstrated in several methods including spatially chirped Bragg reflector vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays,1 multichannel grating cavity (MGC) laser,2 multistripe array grating integrated (MAGIC) laser,3 and multi-wavelength DFB laser array by control selective area MOVPE.4 In those devices, arrays are required for the generation of multi-wavelength oscillation. Each array element is responsible for its individual wavelength oscillation. In this work, it is demonstrated that a single-stripe Fabry-Perot laser diode is able to oscillate at selected multiple wavelengths with a wavelength separation ≥1.3 nm, several times larger than the Fabry-Perot longitudinal mode spacing.

An equivalent corrugation pitch modulated distributed-feedback semiconductor multiwavelength laser array (MLA) with two equivalently assisted phase shifts (EAPSs) based on the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp technique is theoretically studied and experimentally demonstrated. The simulated results show that the longitudinal photon density distribution of the studied MLA is much more uniform than that of the MLA without EAPSs. Accordingly, the longitudinal spatial hole burning of the proposed MLA is therefore suppressed more effectively. The experimental results show that the studied MLA has good single-longitudinal-mode performance. The highest side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is even up to 52.63dB. Meanwhile, the tunable wavelength range of the investigated MLA is 25.94nm under the thermal tuning scheme from 15.12°C to 46.93°C. All channels are within a wavelength deviation of ±0.001n m. The SMSRs are all above 38dB.

To fully exploit the advantages of optics for switching applications, the wavelength dimension should be utilised. An optimum photonic switching architecture probably combines optical space and wavelength switching with electronic time switching. Tunable emitters and tunable optical filters are key devices for developing such systems. A category of devices that are particularly interesting is the one comprising tunable laser diodes, that can be operated either as emitters (when biased above the oscillation threshold) or as narrowband filters (biased below the threshold). Filtering has previously been demonstrated in tunable two-section Fabry-Perot lasers [1], in tunable multi-section DFB lasers [2], [3] and in tunable two-section DBR lasers [4].

We review the progress of multiwavelength DFB laser arrays made for multiwavelength optical networks. The goal is to reduce the per-wavelength transmitter cost in manufacturing and network element control. Using photonic integration, we have addressed and resolved several important issues related to laser arrays such as wavelength accuracy, output power and optical packaging. State of the art results are summarized and its impact on the multiwavelength optical network is assessed.

We proposed a new control method of the tunable distributed feedback (DFB) laser array (TLA) to realize high-speed optical switching by changing the injection current without sacrificing reliability. Previous studies of high-speed wavelength switching at DFB lasers achieved a sub-second switching time by injecting a large current to the active layer. However, a large injection current caused laser degradation that seriously reduced laser lifetime and reliability. In this paper, based on fast wavelength switching by injection current control, a new switching method was proposed that reduces an averaged injection current by increasing temperature. We successfully demonstrated 400-GHz-wide wavelength switching, which is the maximum tuning range of a single DFB laser in the TLA, with a switching time of 130 ms and reduced the injection current from 402 to 52 mA. Thus, we were able to greatly improve the reliability and increase the lifetime of the TLA by 60 times.

The first four-channel 565 Mbit/s FSK transmission experiment at 1.53 μm is reported based on tunable three-electrode DFB lasers. −44 dBm receiver sensitivity and 5.5 GHz minimum channel spacing have been measured for 10−9 bit error rate.

With the significant technology advancement in photonic integration and the demands of compact light sources of multiple wavelengths, multiwavelength laser arrays (MWLAs) can play important roles in high-capacity optical signal transmission, photonic switching, and optical sensing. Manufacturing with semiconductor foundries and the integration with electronic integrated circuits bring not only advanced technologies but also new concepts for realizing MWLAs. This paper will first overview the existing technology development and then discuss the challenges and possible solutions for enabling photonic-integrated MWLAs. The overview will cover monolithically and hybrid-integrated MWLAs. The wavelength registration for both in-plane and vertical-cavity MWLAs will be discussed and compared.