A high speed laser package for optical communications

Describes work which is currently being undertaken at British Telecom Research Laboratories (BTRL) in response to the demand for a highspeed laser package for a variety of system applications. At present, commercial packages are limited in bandwidth to a few gigahertz, whereas laser chips have been reported to at least 18 GHz. In order to evaluate these higher speed chips a test fixture is required, and for use in real systems, a package which meets practical electrical, optical, thermal, mechanical, and environmental conditions must be developed. A test fixture designed for laser chip assessment, and a package developed to host the laser and associated components are described, along with results obtained. The problems of intrapackage connection and interfacing are also addressed