Infinera Corporation

Sheila K Hurtt

Fred A Kish, Jr

Charles H Joyner

Richard P Schneider

Radhakrishnan L Nagarajan

David F Welch

Masaki Kato

Vincent G Dominic

Mehrdad Ziari

Atul Mathur

Andrew G Dentai

Damien Jean Henri Lambert

Randal A Salvatore

A semiconductor monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) comprises two different situations, either at least one signal channel in the PIC having a modulated source with the channel also extended to include at least one additional element or a plurality of modulated sources comprising N signal channels in the PIC of different transmission wavelengths, where N is equal to or greater than two (2), which may also approximate emission wavelengths along a standardized wavelength grid. In these two different situations, a common active region for such modulated sources and additional channel elements is identified as an extended identical active layer (EIAL), as it extends from a single modulated source to such additional channel elements in the same channel and/or extends to additional modulated sources in separate channels where the number of such channels is N equal to two or greater. The emission wavelength of laser sources in the modulated sources have different positively detuned offsets of the laser emission wavelength relative to the laser active region wavelength, i.e., (&#x3bb;&#x2212;&#x3bb;&#x3e;0), and their emission wavelengths form a wavelength grid which may substantially conform to a standardized wavelength grid, such as the ITU grid. These laser sources in the modulated sources with an EIAL are preferentially detuned in the range, for example, of about 20 nm to about 70 nm, preferentially from about 25 nm to about 50 nm, from the active region wavelength of the modulated sources.

Monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) with a plurality of integrated arrays of laser sources and modulators employing an extended identical active layer (EIAL)

A method provides acceptable performance from a semiconductor transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) that contains a plurality of modulated sources each comprising a laser source and an external modulator where each laser source provides a different emission wavelength and each modulated source forms a separate signal channel, comprising the steps of providing at least some of the signal channels with an extended identical active layer (EIAL) so that the modulated sources each have an identical active region wavelength and detuning the laser emission wavelength in each laser source within the EIAL from the laser active region wavelength.

Method of achieving acceptable performance in and fabrication of a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) with integrated arrays of laser sources and modulators employing an extended identical active layer (EIAL)

In photonic integrated circuits (PICs) having at least one active semiconductor device, such as, a buried heterostructure semiconductor laser, LED, modulator, photodiode, heterojunction bipolar transistor, field effect transistor or other active device, a plurality of semiconductor layers are formed on a substrate with one of the layers being an active region. A current channel is formed through this active region defined by current blocking layers formed on adjacent sides of a designated active region channel where the blocking layers substantially confine the current through the channel. The blocking layers are characterized by being an aluminum-containing Group III-V compound, i.e., an Al-III-V layer, intentionally doped with oxygen from an oxide source. Also, wet oxide process or a deposited oxide source may be used to laterally form a native oxide of the Al-III-V layer. An example of a material system for this invention useful at optical telecommunication wavelengths is InGaAsP/InP where the Al-III-V layer comprises InAlAs:O or InAlAs:O:Fe. Other materials for the blocking layers may be InAlGaAs or alternating layers or alternating monolayers of AlAs/InAs. Thus, the O-doped blocking layers may be undoped, impurity doped or co-doped with Fe.

Oxygen-doped Al-containing current blocking layers in active semiconductor devices in photonic integrated circuits (PICs)

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Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Sheila K Hurtt