Precision Threshold Current Measurement for Semiconductor Lasers Based on Relaxation Oscillation Frequency

The soft turn-on of semiconductor lasers leads to uncertainty in defining and measuring the laser threshold injection current, I th . Previously, practical calculation algorithms have been developed to achieve high-accuracy measurement of a clearly defined and reproducible quantity which is called I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of lightwave technology Vol. 27; no. 15; pp. 2949 - 2952
Main Authors Kane, D.M., Toomey, J.P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York IEEE 01.08.2009
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects
Current measurement
Frequency measurement
Injection current
Laser noise
Laser theory
Laser threshold
Laser transitions
Lasers
Lead compounds
Mathematical analysis
Measurement methods
Measurement standards
Power generation
Relaxation oscillations
Semiconductor lasers
Threshold current
Threshold currents
Thresholds
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Summary:The soft turn-on of semiconductor lasers leads to uncertainty in defining and measuring the laser threshold injection current, I th . Previously, practical calculation algorithms have been developed to achieve high-accuracy measurement of a clearly defined and reproducible quantity which is called I th . We demonstrate a new and higher accuracy measurement of I th using the dependency of the relaxation oscillation frequency on injection current, as compared to the existing standardized approaches. Further, if it is accepted that relaxation oscillations do not occur below laser threshold, this may be regarded as a more fundamentally based definition and measurement method to determine the laser threshold injection current in a semiconductor laser. The method may also be applicable to other types of lasers.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0733-8724
1558-2213
DOI:10.1109/JLT.2009.2019112