Optical transmitter with a least pair of semiconductor laser diodes

• US 7,415,053 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2006
• Issued: 08/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey; Minsun
• Assistant Examiner(s): King; Joshua
• Application Number:
  US11/367,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20060203863A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 372/38.02, 372/38.07, 372/33, 372/29.012, 372/50.12, 372/38.1, 372/29.013, 372/23, 372/29.015, 372/38.01, 398/136, 398/138, 398/195, 398/197, 398/198
• US Class Current: 372/38.02
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/042 Electrical excitation ; Circuits therefor monolithically integrated laser drive components H01S5/0261
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4018 Lasers electrically in series
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4025 Array arrangements, e.g. constituted by discrete laser diodes or laser bar H01S5/42 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/564 Power control

Abstract

The present invention is to provide an optical transmitter with reduced power consumption. The optical transmitter includes two laser diodes connected in series to each other, one of which is connected in the anode thereof to the first driver, while the other of which is connected in the cathode thereof to the second driver. Further, between the anode of the first laser diode and the cathode of the second laser diode connects an impedance device. In the present invention, the first and second laser diodes, and the impedance device have the substantially same impedance to each other within a concerned frequency range.

Claims

1. An optical transmitter, comprising:

a first laser diode having an anode and a cathode;

a first driver connected to the anode of the first laser diode, the first driver receiving a first driving signal;

a second laser diode having an anode and a cathode, the anode of the second laser diode being connected in serial to the cathode of the first laser diode;

a second driver connected to the cathode of the second laser diode, the second driver receiving a second driving signal different from the first driving signal;

an impedance device connected between the anode of the first laser diode and the cathode of the second laser diode; and

a compensating circuit connected to the cathode of the first laser diode and the anode of the second laser diode,

wherein the impedance device, the first laser diode, and the second laser diode form a closed loop and have an impedance substantially the same with respect to each other, and

wherein the first laser diode is driven only by the first driving signal independently of the second driving signal and the second laser diode is driven only by the second driving signal independently of the first driving signal.

2. The optical transmitter according to claim 1,

wherein the compensating circuit includes a resistor with one terminal thereof connected to the cathode of the first laser diode and the anode of the second laser diode, and the other terminal thereof is grounded.

3. The optical transmitter according to claim 1,

further includes first and second resistors, the anode of the first laser diode is connected to the first driver through the first resistor, and the cathode of the second laser diode is connected to the second driver through the second resistor.

4. The optical transmitter according to claim 1,

wherein the compensating circuit supplies or sinks a compensating current to equalize an output power of the first laser diode to an output power of the second laser diode.

5. The optical transmitter according to claim 4,

further includes a photodiode for monitoring the output power of at least one of the first laser diode and the second laser diode and outputs a compensating signal,

wherein the compensating circuit adjusts the compensating current based on the compensating signal output from the photodiode.