Title :
High butt-coupling efficiency to single-mode fibers using a 1.55-μm InGaAsP laser integrated with a tapered ridge mode transformer
Author :
Vusirikala, V. ; Saini, S.S. ; Bartolo, R.E. ; Whaley, R. ; Agarwala, S. ; Dagenais, M. ; Johnson, F.G. ; Stone, D.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Maryland Univ., College Park, MD, USA
Abstract :
We demonstrate a tapered ridge mode expanded laser with reduced far-field divergence angles (9.5/spl deg//spl times/22/spl deg/) and improved coupling to cleaved single-mode fibers (SMF) (3.7-dB coupling loss). This device was grown in a single epitaxial growth and was processed using conventional fabrication techniques, thus making it very attractive for low-cost manufacturing. This scheme also represents a general method by which active gain regions can be introduced into passive optical devices like beam splitters and combiners.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; integrated optics; laser modes; laser transitions; molecular beam epitaxial growth; optical fabrication; optical fibre couplers; optical fibre losses; quantum well lasers; ridge waveguides; semiconductor growth; waveguide lasers; 1.55 mum; 3.7 dB; InGaAsP; MQW active layer; active gain regions; beam combiners; beam splitters; cleaved single-mode fibers; conventional fabrication techniques; coupling loss; high butt-coupling efficiency; integrated 1.55-/spl mu/m InGaAsP laser; low-cost manufacturing; passive optical devices; reduced far-field divergence angles; single epitaxial growth; single-mode fibers; tapered ridge mode expanded laser; tapered ridge mode transformer; Epitaxial growth; Fiber lasers; Laser modes; Manufacturing processes; Optical beam splitting; Optical coupling; Optical device fabrication; Optical devices; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber losses;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
