Wavelength addressable laser diode using a re-writable Bragg grating mirror

Summary form only given. Two problems encountered in the manufacture of laser diodes for dense WDM system applications are (1) the present DFB laser process control does not allow sufficiently accurate determination of the final lasing wavelength to avoid the need for post-manufacture wavelength selection and subsequent low yields, and (2) the fabrication and stocking of a large number of different wavelength lasers is very costly. The present laser design, in which the lasing wavelength is set after the fabrication process, avoids these problems by allowing the lasing wavelength to be set easily in the field to any wavelength within the gain-bandwidth of the gain medium. Finally, the design does not require active wavelength stabilization, as would be required by a tunable laser, but does offer wavelength agility for reconfigurable WDM networks.