Tunable Lasers in

Optical
Communications
By
James Harper
Instructor: P. Lui
Department of Electrical Engineering
University at Buffalo State University of New York
Course Requirement for EE 566

 Introduction

Outline

Tuning Mechanisms
Distributed Bragg Reflector Lasers
External Cavity Tunable Lasers
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers
Types of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers
Future Applications
Economical Impact

Introduction
Most tunable lasers consist of a longitudinal
integration of sections
Active section provides optical gain
Filter section provides a tunable frequency
Phase shifter section is for fine-tuning of the cavity
resonance frequency

The problem of Metro Area Networks

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Tuning Mechanisms
Electric field-induce index change
An electrical field is applied that changes the
refractive index of the waveguide

Thermally-induced index change

Heat is applied by a resistive method to the
tuning section of the laser
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Distributed Bragg Reflector Laser

[1]

First proposed tunable DBR laser was in 1977 for only the active
section and the reflector
Consist of three integrated sections
The active section has a matching bandgap for the desired emission
frequency which provides the optical gain
The reflector has a higher bandgap, such that the material is transparent
for laser light
The phase section can be adjusted electronically through current injection.
Using this a cavity mode can be tuned to the Bragg frequency
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External Cavity Tunable Laser

Intel

Consist of a laser chip and external reflector

By using a grating as the external reflector, turning of
the grating will lead to a tuning of the lasers wavelength
Intel is one company that is working on external cavity
tunable lasers
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Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting

Lasers (VCSEL)
VCSEL first proposed in
1977 and demonstrated in
1979
In 1988 first continuous
wave laser using GaAs
material was
demonstrated in 1988
In 1999 production and
extension of applications
for VCSEL technology
Honeywell
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Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting

laser
Wavelength division multiplexing
Device fabrication
molecular beam epitaxy

Materials GaAs has a natural wavelength

emission of 873 nm, while InP emits a wavelength
of 918nm.
8

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting

laser
Key Advantages
low cost
no noise
no frequency interruptions
less power consumption
higher performance of transceivers for metro
area networks
high modulation bandwidth
Beam Characteristics The emitted laser can be controlled
by selecting the number and thickness of mirror layers
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Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting

Lasers

Linnik 2002
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Tunable Vertical Cavity Surface

Emitting Lasers
Tuning mechanisms
Temperature: Increasing or decreasing the temperature of the
material changes the wavelength transmission of the laser
Current: Multiple current injections are used in the device to
change the wavelengths of the laser
Mechanical: most recent technique, uses micro-electro
mechanical systems to adjust the wavelengths of the laser

Drawbacks
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Tunable VCSELs Cantilevers

How the cantilever works

Chang-Hasnain 2001

Wavelength range is between 1530nm and 1610nm

The coupling efficiency of over 90%
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Tunable VCSELs
Half Symmetric Type

Chang-Hasnain 2000
13

Tunable VCSELs
Membrane Type

Chang-Hasnian 2001

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Future Applications
Optical Cross Connects (OXCs)
used to switch wavelengths in Metro area networks, it regulates
traffic throughout the network.

Computer Optics
Computer links, optical interconnects

Optical Sensing
Optical fiber sensing, Bar code readers, Encoders

Displays
Array light sources, Multi-beam search lights
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Economical Impact
Current Market Trends
Today as opto electronics become more
commercial, this market generate about $ 15
billion a year

Future Market Projection

the world market for tunable lasers by 2007
should be about $ 2.4 billion a year
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REFERENCES

[1] Karim, A., Abraham, P., Lofgreen, D., Chiu, J., Bowers, Piprek, Wafer
Bonded 1.55m Vertical Cavity Laser Arrays for wavelength Division
Multiplexing, IEEE Journal Electronics, Vol. 7, No. 2, Mar/Apr 2001, pp.
178-183

[2] Shinagawa, Tatsuyuki, Iwai, Norihrio, Yokouchi, Noriyuki, Vertical

Cavity Surface Emitting Semiconductor Laser Device, United States Patent
Application, Mar 2003, pp.1-11

[3] Chung-Hasnain, Connie, J., Tunable VCSEL, IEEE Journal on

Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, Vol. 6, No. 6, Dec 2000, pp. 979985

[4] Derbyshire, Katherine, Prospects Bright for Optoelectronics,

Semiconductor magazine, Vol. 3, No.3, Mar 2002, pp 1-5

[5] Chang-Hasnain, Connie, J., Tunable VCSELs: enabling wavelengthon-demand in metro networks, Compound Semiconductor, June 2001, pp.
1-3Selected Topics in Quantum

[6] WDM Technologies: Active Optical Components, Achyut Dutta, Niloy

Dutta, Masahiko Fujiwara, Academic Press, pp. 116-150, pp. 167-205,2002

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Tunable VCSEL Cantilever

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