Enhanced efficiency laterally-coupled distributed feedback laser
US7796656B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 5, 2007 |
| Grant date | Sep 14, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/22
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention describes the method and apparatus for enhanced efficiency in a laterally-coupled distributed feedback (LC-DFB) laser. In a device featuring the effective ridge design, lateral confinement of the guided optical modes is provided by a surface etched grating, which also serves as a DFB element of the laser. Coupling and quantum efficiency of such a LC-DFB laser both improve with an increase of the lateral mode order. In accordance with this invention, a dramatic enhancement of the laser efficiency is achievable by designing it to operate in one of the higher order modes, notably the first order mode, while all the other lateral modes, including the zero order mode, are suppressed through gain-loss discrimination. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, this enhanced efficiency technique is applied to the design of a single-mode LC-DFB laser suitable for a monolithic integration with other active and passive functional elements of photonic integrated circuits fabricated by using one-step epitaxial growth.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.