Modulation of phased-array semiconductor lasers at K-band frequencies

The possibility of phase locking the lateral modes of a multiple-emitter semiconductor-laser phased array by modulating at the beat frequency of the lateral modes is presented. A rate equation model of a twin-emitter array is introduced and used to find the response of the optical output of the array to small sinusoidal modulations of the injection current. In-phase modulation of the emitters is found to be ineffectual, while modulating the emitters 180 degrees out of phase extended the responsivity well beyond the relaxation oscillation frequency to approximately the frequency associated with the rate of photon exchange between the coupled emitters. The rate equations were numerically integrated for several cases of interest to evaluate the stabilizing effect of strong modulation (entrainment). >

[1]  K. Lau.  Efficient narrow‐band direct modulation of semiconductor injection lasers at millimeter wave frequencies of 100 GHz and beyond , 1988 .

[2]  E. Conwell,et al.  Planar optical waveguides and fibres , 1977 .

[3]  Kam Y. Lau,et al.  Passive and active mode locking of a semiconductor laser without an external cavity , 1985 .

[4]  M. Hirsch,et al.  Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems, and Linear Algebra , 1974 .

[5]  Dan Botez,et al.  Coupled‐mode analysis of phase‐locked injection laser arrays , 1984 .

[6]  N. Holonyak,et al.  Physics of Semiconductor Laser Devices , 1981 .

[7]  R. B. Lauer,et al.  InGaAsP buried heterostructure laser with 22 GHz bandwidth and high modulation efficiency , 1987 .

[8]  Bandy,et al.  Mode-mode competition and unstable behavior in a homogeneously broadened ring laser. , 1986, Physical review. A, General physics.

[9]  E Kapon,et al.  Supermode analysis of phase-locked arrays of semiconductor lasers. , 1984, Optics letters.

[10]  Robert G. Harrison,et al.  Instabilities and Chaos in Quantum Optics, II , 1988 .

[11]  N. Yu,et al.  Picosecond optical properties of a grating surface emitting two-dimensional coherent laser array , 1989, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[12]  H. Matsueda.  AlGaAs OEIC transmitters , 1987 .

[13]  N. Bar-chaim,et al.  GaAs integrated optoelectronics , 1982, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[14]  H. Winful,et al.  Stability of phase locking in coupled semiconductor laser arrays , 1988 .

[15]  S. Corzine,et al.  Actively mode-locked semiconductor lasers , 1989 .

[16]  J. K. Butler,et al.  Coupled-mode analysis of gain and wavelength oscillation characteristics of diode laser phased arrays , 1985 .

[17]  Rodney S. Tucker,et al.  High-speed modulation of semiconductor lasers , 1985 .