Integrated dual optical frequency comb source.

A monolithically integrated dual-channel optical frequency comb source is demonstrated in this paper. Three lasers are integrated on a single chip using a regrowth-free fabrication process in a master-slave-slave configuration. The master laser's power is split equally using a 1x2 multimode interference coupler and injection locks the two slave lasers. The slave lasers are gain-switched to produce dual optical frequency combs at 4.1 GHz and 5 GHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a dual optical frequency comb source with all light sources monolithically integrated in a photonic integrated circuit (PIC).

Dynamics of on-chip asymmetrically coupled semiconductor lasers.

We investigate the dynamics of asymmetrically coupled semiconductor lasers on photonic integrated circuits in experiment and theory. The experimental observations are explained using a rate-equation model for coupled lasers incorporating a saturable coupling waveguide. We perform a bifurcation analysis of the coupled laser dynamics, focusing on the effects of the coupling phase and the dynamical difference between passive and saturable coupling waveguides. For a passive waveguide, we find a bifurcation scenario closely resembling the well-known optical injection setup, which is largely insensitive to the coupling phase. When the coupling waveguide is saturable, the dynamics become increasingly complex and unpredictable, with a strong phase-dependence. Our results show the possibility of a simple layout for reproducible laser dynamics on a chip.

Regrowth-free integration of injection locked slotted laser with an electroabsorption modulator.

Optical injection locking was used to red shift an integrated semiconductor laser up to 30 nm away from the main free running lasing mode. This injection locking of the laser beyond its band edge enabled its integration with an electroabsorption modulator to produce a 2.5 Gb/s eye diagram. The electroabsorption modulator was shown to have a 3 dB bandwidth of 5.5 GHz, which was limited by the contact capacitance. This paper demonstrates that such devices could be applied in a regrowth free, monolithic coherent wavelength division multiplexing transmitter.