Resonantly enhanced semiconductor lasers for efficient transmission of millimeter wave modulated light

External cavity semiconductor lasers with resonantly enhanced modulation response are shown to be suitable for efficient narrowband data transmission in the millimeter-wave range (35 GHz) at frequencies beyond the intrinsic modulation bandwidth of the diode. A small-signal rate equation model is presented to analyze the modulation response as well as the amplitude noise in such a resonant transmitter system. Analysis and measurements show that the relative intensity noise is also resonantly enhanced, but the signal-to-noise ratio is not degraded.<<ETX>>