Discretely Tunable Laser Based on Filtered Feedback for Telecommunication Applications

• Published in: IEEE journal of selected topics in quantum electronics Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 1405 - 1412
• Main Authors: Docter, Boudewijn, Pozo, Jose, Beri, Stefano, Ermakov, Ilya V, Danckaert, Jan, Smit, Meint K, Karouta, Fouad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.09.2010; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Arrayed waveguide gratings; Distributed feedback devices; Filtered feedback; Laser feedback; Optical arrays; Optical feedback; Optical filters; packet switching; photonic integrated circuits; Semiconductor laser arrays; semiconductor lasers; Telecommunication switching; Tunable circuits and devices; tunable lasers; Waveguide lasers
• ISSN: 1077-260X; 1558-4542
• DOI: 10.1109/JSTQE.2009.2038072

A novel discretely tunable laser based on filtered feedback is presented. The semiconductor device consists of a Fabry-Perot laser with deeply etched broadband distributed Bragg reflector mirrors. Single-mode operation is achieved by using feedback from an integrated filter. This filter contains an arrayed waveguide grating wavelength router and a semiconductor optical amplifier gate array. Design, simulation, and the first characterization results of this new integrated filtered-feedback tunable laser device are presented. It shows a combination of a simple and robust switching algorithm with good wavelength stability. A rate equation model predicts that a properly designed device can switch within 1 ns. The fast switching and reduced control complexity makes the device very promising for various advanced applications in optical telecommunication networks.