Mode-hop tolerant semiconductor laser design

• US 9,136,666 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2015
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Openlight Photonics Incorporated (Synopsys Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Aurrion, Inc. (Juniper Networks Incorporated)
• Inventors: Norberg, Erik, Koch, Brian R., Fish, Gregory Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Kinam
• Application Number:
  US14/611,365
• Time in Patent Office: 225 Days
• Field of Search: 372/32, 372/29.02, 372/102, 372/99, 372/98, 372/34
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08059 Constructional details of the reflector, e.g. shape mirrors in general G02B5/08; mountings for mirrors G02B7/18
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/106 by controlling devices placed within the cavity H01S3/10076, H01S3/13 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1061 using a variable absorption device
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/136 by controlling devices placed within the cavity
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/137 for stabilising of frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02407 Active cooling, e.g. the laser temperature is controlled by a thermo-electric cooler or water cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02446 Cooling being separate from the laser chip cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02469 Passive cooling, e.g. where heat is removed by the housing as a whole or by a heat pipe without any active cooling element like a TEC
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/06256 with DBR-structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0653 Mode suppression, e.g. specific multimode
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0654 Single longitudinal mode emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0687 Stabilising the frequency of the laser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/125 Distributed Bragg reflector [DBR] lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/141 using a wavelength selective device, e.g. a grating or etalon H01S5/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4012 Beam combining, e.g. by the use of fibres, gratings, polarisers, prisms
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4087 emitting more than one wavelength

Abstract

Described herein are methods, systems, and apparatuses to utilize a laser device comprising a gain section, a wavelength filter, a first reflector, and a second reflector to form a laser cavity with the first reflector, the laser cavity to include the gain section and the wavelength filter. The wavelength filter is temperature stabilized to a predetermined temperature range and the remaining portions of the laser cavity are not temperature stabilized. The wavelength filter, when at the predetermined temperature range, comprises a plurality of adjacent longitudinal modes such that a difference in modal gain values associated with each of the adjacent longitudinal modes is within a predetermined delta. Thus, the cavity of the laser device is designed to experience some mode hops when the device temperature changes; however, because the wavelength filter is stabilized in temperature, the cavity drift due to these mode hops is within a limited range.

Claims

1. A laser comprising:

a gain section;

a wavelength filter;

a first reflector; and

a second reflector to form a laser cavity with the first reflector, the laser cavity to include the gain section and the wavelength filter;

wherein the wavelength filter is temperature stabilized within a predetermined temperature range and the remaining portions of the laser cavity are not temperature stabilized, and wherein the wavelength filter, when at the predetermined temperature range, comprises a plurality of adjacent longitudinal modes such that cavity round-trip modal gain values associated with each of the adjacent longitudinal modes comprise similar values differing by a predetermined delta.

2. The laser of claim 1, wherein the wavelength filter comprises at least one of a grating, a ring filter, an asymmetric Mach Zehnder interferometer (MZI), or a directional coupler.

3. The laser of claim 1, wherein the wavelength filter is included in the first reflector or the second reflector.

4. The laser of claim 3, wherein the wavelength filter is included in the first reflector and comprises a ring filter to suppress a first set of longitudinal modes, and the second reflector comprises a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) to suppress a second set of longitudinal modes.

5. The laser of claim 1, further comprising:

a phase control section included in the laser cavity, the phase control section to adjust the phase of an output signal of the laser cavity in response to determined temperature changes in the portions of the laser cavity not temperature stabilized.

6. The laser of claim 5, wherein the phase control section comprises at least one of a resistive element thermal tuner, a current injection PIN semiconductor diode, or a reverse bias semiconductor PIN diode.

7. The laser of claim 1, wherein the gain section is to increase the gain of an output signal of the laser during a transition from a first longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes to a second longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes.

8. The laser of claim 7, wherein the gain section is to further increase signal power at noise peaks from a first longitudinal mode and adjacent longitudinal modes of the laser device.

9. A method comprising:

determining a temperature change during operation of a lasing device, wherein the lasing device comprises;

a gain section;

a phase control section;

a wavelength filter;

a first reflector; and

a second reflector to form a lasing cavity with the first reflector, the lasing cavity to include the gain section and the wavelength filter;

wherein the wavelength filter is temperature stabilized within a predetermined temperature range and the remaining portions of the lasing cavity are not temperature stabilized, and wherein the wavelength filter, when at the predetermined temperature range, comprises a plurality of adjacent longitudinal modes such that cavity round-trip modal gain values associated with each of the adjacent longitudinal modes comprise similar values differing by a predetermined delta; and

tuning the phase of an output signal of the lasing cavity in response to the temperature change.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the wavelength of the output signal of the lasing cavity is tuned to transition the output signal from a first longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes to a second longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the phase of the output signal of the lasing cavity is tuned to accelerate the transition of the output signal from the first longitudinal mode to the second longitudinal mode.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the phase of the output signal of the lasing is tuned to slow the transition of the output signal from the first longitudinal mode to the second longitudinal mode.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

actively stabilizing the wavelength filter by adjusting at least one of a thermo-electric cooler or a microheater disposed near the wavelength filter.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

increasing the gain of the output signal of the lasing cavity during a transition from a first longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes to a second longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

increasing a power of the output signal at noise peaks from a first longitudinal mode and adjacent longitudinal modes of the laser device.

16. A system comprising:

a receiver module; and

a transmitter module to generate an output signal to be received by the receiving module, the transmitter module to include a laser device to generated the output signal and comprising;

a gain section;

a phase control section;

a wavelength filter;

a first reflector; and

a second reflector to form a laser cavity with the first reflector, the laser cavity to include the gain section and the wavelength filter;

wherein the wavelength filter is temperature stabilized within a predetermined temperature range and the remaining portions of the laser cavity are not temperature stabilized, and wherein the wavelength filter, when at the predetermined temperature range, comprises a plurality of adjacent longitudinal modes such that cavity round-trip modal gain values associated with each of the adjacent longitudinal modes comprise similar values differing by a predetermined delta.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the gain section of the laser device of the transmitter module is to increase the gain of the output signal during a transition from a first longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes to a second longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the receiver module includes a filter to filter noise peaks from a first longitudinal mode and adjacent longitudinal modes of the laser device included in the output signal received from the transmitter module.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the transmitter module increases the signal power at the noise peaks from a first longitudinal mode and adjacent longitudinal modes of the laser device.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the laser cavity of the laser device of the transmitter module comprises a length to generate a noise peak in the output signal during a transition from a first longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes to a second longitudinal mode of the adjacent longitudinal modes, and wherein the noise peak is outside of a data band of the receiver module.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiver module comprises:

a photodetector to receive the output signal from the transmitter module;

wherein a full spectral range (FSR) of longitudinal modes of the laser cavity of the laser device of the transmitter module is larger than a bandwidth of the photodetector of the receiver module.