Monolithic semiconductor soliton transmitter

• Published in: Journal of lightwave technology 1995-02, Vol.13 (2), p.297-301
• Main Authors: Hansen, P.B., Raybon, G., Koren, U., Miller, B.I., Young, M.G., Newkirk, M.A., Chien, M.-D., Tell, B., Burrus, C.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Circuit properties; Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Laser mode locking; Miscellaneous; Optical and optoelectronic circuits; Optical materials; Optical pulses; Quantum well lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductor materials; Semiconductor waveguides; Solitons; Transmitters; Waveguide lasers
• ISSN: 0733-8724; 1558-2213
• DOI: 10.1109/50.365219

A monolithic soliton transmitter is fabricated using the PPro-II process in the InGaAsP material system by integrating an electro-absorption modulator with an extended-cavity laser. The laser cavity comprises a 700-/spl mu/m-long active region, which consists of 6 strain-compensated multiple quantum wells, a 8100-/spl mu/m-long passive buried-rib waveguide section, and a Bragg reflector with a length of 250 /spl mu/m. Mode-locking of the laser section results in 8-ps pulses at a repetition rate of 4.9 GHz. The time-bandwidth product is 0.30. Using the partially reflecting grating as one of the laser mirrors allows for integration of an electro-absorption modulator as a monolithic but extra-cavity data encoder. The modulator is fabricated by growing a 2000 A thick 1.46-/spl mu/m quaternary layer on top of the waveguiding layers. At a 4.9-Gb/s data rate, an extinction ratio of 20 dB is measured at a signal wavelength of 1565.4 nm.< >