SEMICONDUCTOR LASER DEVICE

• US 20110216789A1
• Filed: 08/01/2008
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EFFECT Photonics BV
• Original Assignee: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
• Inventors: Smit, Meint Koert, Beri, Stefano, Docter, Boudewijn, Karouta, Fouad
• Granted Patent: US 8,571,084 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 372/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0268 Integrated waveguide grating router, e.g. emission of a multi-wavelength laser array is combined by a "dragon router"
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/06256 with DBR-structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/065 Mode locking; Mode suppression; Mode selection ; Self pulsating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0656 Seeding, i.e. an additional light input is provided for controlling the laser modes, for example by back-reflecting light from an external optical component H01S5/14, H01S5/4062 and H01S5/4006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1021 Coupled cavities H01S5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1209 Sampled grating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1212 Chirped grating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1215 Multiplicity of periods
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/124 incorporating phase shifts
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/125 Distributed Bragg reflector [DBR] lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4087 emitting more than one wavelength

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a semiconductor laser device comprising a first resonator section for resonating an optical resonator signal for providing an optical output signal at an output of said laser device, wherein said first resonator section is arranged for selectively resonating at a plurality of discrete output wavelengths, and wherein said laser device further comprises a second resonator section operatively connected to said first resonator section, said second resonator section being arranged for providing an optical feedback signal at a feedback wavelength to said first resonator section for locking said first resonator section into resonating at a selected output wavelength of said discrete output wavelengths, which selected output wavelength corresponds to said feedback wavelength for providing said optical output signal.

Claims

1. Semiconductor laser device comprising a first resonator section for resonating an optical resonator signal for providing an optical output signal at an output of said laser device, wherein said first resonator section is arranged for selectively resonating at a plurality of discrete output wavelengths, and wherein said laser device further comprises a second resonator section operatively connected to said first resonator section, said second resonator section being arranged for providing an optical feedback signal at a feedback wavelength to said first resonator section for locking said first resonator section into resonating at a selected output wavelength of said discrete output wavelengths, which selected output wavelength corresponds to said feedback wavelength for providing said optical output signal.

2. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein said second resonator section is arranged for providing said optical feedback signal selectable at a plurality of feedback wavelengths.

3. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 2, wherein said second resonator section comprises a plurality of cavities, wherein each of said cavities is arranged for resonating at a cavity wavelength corresponding to at least one of said plurality of feedback wavelengths, said device further comprising means for selecting one of said plurality of cavities for providing said optical feedback signal.

4. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 3, wherein said means for selecting one of said cavities comprises means for selectively powering a semiconductor optical amplifier of each of said cavities.

5. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 2, wherein said second resonator section comprises at least one tunable cavity of said cavities, which tunable cavity is arranged for selectively resonating at one of a plurality of discrete cavity wavelengths, wherein each cavity wavelength of said plurality of discrete cavity wavelengths corresponds to one of said feedback wavelengths.

8. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, further comprising an tunable filter element for providing said operative connection between said second resonator section and said first resonator section, wherein said tunable filter element is arranged for selectively transmitting at least one of said feedback wavelengths.

9. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 8, wherein said tunable filter element comprises an arrayed waveguide grating.

10. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, further comprising means for controlling a phase of said optical feedback signal.

11. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein said first resonator section comprises one or more output cavities, wherein each of said one or more output cavities is arranged for resonating at one or more of said plurality of discrete output wavelengths for providing said optical output signal.

12. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 11, wherein said first resonator section comprises a single output cavity arranged for resonating at all of said plurality of discrete output wavelengths for providing said optical output signal, or wherein said first resonator section comprises multiple output cavities, wherein each output cavity of said multiple output cavities is arranged for resonating at one or more of said plurality of discrete output wavelengths for providing said optical output signal.

13. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 12, wherein said first resonator section comprises said multiple output cavities, and wherein said tunable filter element is arranged for selectively per output cavity transmitting one or more of said feedback wavelengths between each of said output cavities and said second resonator section.

14. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 13, further comprising means for combining output cavity signals from one or more of said output cavities for providing said optical output signal.

15. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein said discrete output wavelengths are within a range between 1400 nm and 1700 nm, or wherein said discrete output wavelengths correspond to wavelengths defined in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) international telecommunications union (ITU) grid specification (ITU-grid) wavelengths.

16. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein said first resonator section comprises a Fabry-Perot resonator, or wherein said first resonator section comprises Bragg reflection mirrors for resonating at said plurality of discrete output wavelengths.

6. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 6, wherein said at least one tunable cavity comprises a tunable grating for selectively resonating at one of said plurality of discrete cavity wavelengths.

7. Semiconductor laser device according to claim 7, wherein said tunable grating is a tunable sampled grating or a tunable vertical groove grating.