Dynamic and mode characteristics for AlGaInAs/InP microdisk lasers subject to optical injection

Abstract. Due to the merits of small size and low power consumption, microdisk lasers have been widely investigated as a potential light source for photonic integrated circuits. We investigate the dynamic and mode characteristics for a directional-emission microdisk laser subject to optical injection. At the free-running state, single-mode operation at 1540.16 nm with side-mode suppression ratio of 35 dB is realized for an 8-μm-radius microdisk laser connected with a 2-μm-width output waveguide at 7 mA. Under the injection locking state with the injection optical power of 2 mW, the 3-dB bandwidth of the small signal modulation response is enhanced from 3.4 to 13.7 GHz for the microdisk laser biased at 7 mA. Furthermore, the nonlinear states including four-wave mixing, period-one, and period-two oscillations are also observed and discussed for the microdisk laser subject to the optical injection with different wavelength detuning and optical power.