Adjustable monolithic multi-wavelength laser arrays

Abstract

This invention demonstrates an adjustable monolithic multi-wavelength laser diode array formed on a substrate a plurality of diode lasers, each has an active section and two mirrors with similar multiple reflectivity peaks. A phase control section can also be included in each laser for fine tuning of the laser wavelength. Each laser in the laser array can emit light at the same wavelength or can be easily tuned to form an array with multiple wavelengths. To serve as an application example of this invention, sampled grating DBR lasers are designed to form a laser array with adjustable multi-wavelength outputs. By varying from laser to laser the sampling periods of the sampled gratings in each laser, a uniformly-spaced multi-wavelength laser array can be achieved with a simple tuning mechanism. The lasers can also emit light at the same wavelength or be tuned to other wavelengths by tuning the sampled grating mirrors. The technique for fabricating the laser array is similar to that for conventional DBR lasers and is already well established. The invented multi-wavelength laser arrays can find applications in WDM systems to offer the advantages of high performance, high reliability, compact size, and high speed.