Recent Topics of Integrated Semiconductor Lasers

Abstract

As integrated semiconductor lasers, new class of lasers called Dynamic-Single-Mode (DSM) lasers such as distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers become very important for ultra-wideband optical fiber transmissions in 1.5-1.6 μm wavelength region, because the DSM laser operates at a stable single longitudinal mode even under a rapid direct modulation up to several GHz and its narrow spectral linewidth property as well as capability of electronic wavelength tuning is very attractive for coherent optical communication systems.
In this report, several topics of recent research activities in the field of integrated semiconductor lasers are reviewed from an aspect of new ideas to attain higher performances, such as low threshold current, high output efficiency, narrow linewidth, small wavelength chirping, and fast modulation capability. Vertical cavity surface emitting (VC-SE) lasers are also reviewed from an aspect of an elementary device for two-dimensional photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for a parallel optical information processing.