Very high frequency GaAlAs laser field-effect transistor monolithic integrated circuit

A very low threshold GaAlAs buried heterostructure laser has been monolithically integrated with a recessed structure metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor on a semi-insulating substrate. At cw operation, the device has a direct modulation bandwidth of at least 4 GHz

Conversion of optical path length to frequency by an interferometer using photorefractive oscillation

Frequency detuning effects in photorefractive oscillators are used in a new type of (passive) interferometry which converts optical path length changes to frequency shifts. Such an interferometer is potentially more accurate than conventional interferometers which convert optical path length changes to phase or intensity changes

Ultralow Threshold Quantum Well Lasers For Computer Interconnects

Optical computer interconnects appear very attractive when integration of state of the art technology of quantum well GaAs/GaA1As lasers is considered. These ultralow threshold lasers provide the very high transmission rates and the inherent simplicity required for such systems. A detailed design is presented for a 5 Gbit s-1 transmission rate, suppression of pattern effects, and a system power supply of approximately 25 mW per laser. Existing experimental data show that little extrapolation is required to reach that kind of performance from state of the art technology

Recent developments in monolithic integration of InGaAsP/InP optoelectronic devices

Monolithically integrated optoelectronic circuits combine optical devices such as light sources (injection lasers and light emitting diodes) and optical detectors with solid-state semiconductor devices such as field effect transistors, bipolar transistors, and others on a single semiconductor crystal. Here we review some of the integrated circuits that have been realized and discuss the laser structures suited for integration with emphasis on the InGaAsP/InP material system. Some results of high frequency modulation and performance of integrated devices are discussed

Ultralow Threshold Quantum Well Lasers For Computer Interconnects

Optical computer interconnects appear very attractive when integration of state of the art technology of quantum well GaAs/GaA1As lasers is considered. These ultralow threshold lasers provide the very high transmission rates and the inherent simplicity required for such systems. A detailed design is presented for a 5 Gbit s-1 transmission rate, suppression of pattern effects, and a system power supply of approximately 25 mW per laser. Existing experimental data show that little extrapolation is required to reach that kind of performance from state of the art technology

Monolithic integration of gallium arsenide optoelectronic devices

The optical properties of GaAs make it a very useful material for the fabrication of optical emitters and detectors. GaAs also possesses electronic properties which permit the fabrication of high speed electronic devices which are superior to conventional silicon devices. This thesis describes three examples of the monolithic integration of optical and electronic devices on semi-insulating GaAs substrates. In the first example, an injection laser was integrated with a Gunn oscillator to yield a high frequency modulated optical source. In the second example, an injection laser was integrated with a metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET). The transistor was used to modulate the current through the laser. In the third example, an integrated optical repeater was demonstrated which consisted of a MESFET optical detector, a current source, a transistor driver, and an injection laser all fabricated on a single chip. The repeater displayed an optical gain of 10 dB. In order to facilitate the fabrication of more complex integrated optoelectronic circuits, a method was sought to form a laser cavity which did not occupy the entire width of a chip. The result was the demonstration of whispering gallery lasers which take the shape of quarter and half rings. The performance of the curved lasers was reduced from that of the straight lasers due to optical scattering at imperfections along the curve. A general theory is developed which describes mode conversion in perturbed dielectric resonators. This theory is applied to the case of the whispering gallery laser and its predictions are compared with experiment

High Speed, High Performance Laser Module

We will present the performance data and discuss a few pertinent design details of a cooled directly modulated laser (DML) module that is targeted for use in several SONET OC-192 applications and capable of addressing 10G Ethernet requirements. The intent of the presentation is to demonstrate the performance potential of the module operating at 1310 nm wavelength for these applications. The four primary technical areas of focus are: (1) the ability to continuously operate in adverse environmental conditions, i.e. 85°C case temperature, (2) demonstrate transmission up to 80 km is achievable via use of, (3) a high efficiency optical coupling design, and (4) ease of RF interface due to low RF return loss and high bandwidth. These all assume that the laser's intrinsic design is properly specified and well matched to the package design. The regime of engineering design is approaching the practical limits and diminishing returns in terms of RF and optical coupling efficiencies. This suggests that further substantial improvements require a change in the underlying technology