Title :
Heterodyne measurement of linewidth, tunability, and frequency synthesis of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diode arrays
Author :
Olbright, G.R. ; Apte, R. ; Bloom, D.M.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, NM
fDate :
12/1/1991 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Summary form only given. The linewidth of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) (65 MHz), the tunability of their lasing wavelength (20 Å), and the tunability of the heterodyne beat frequency (65 MHz to 150 GHz) were measured by varying the drive current to the lasers. The ability to control the output wavelength of VCSELs by current and location on the wafer makes it possible to extrapolate tunability over a range from 65 MHz to 3 THz. While the spatial tunability of 3 THz is of interest for wavelength-division multiplexing schemes, the current tunability of 150 GHz is attractive for frequency control and stabilization. The observation of narrow VCSEL linewidths is encouraging for their potential applications in communications
Keywords :
frequency control; frequency division multiplexing; frequency measurement; laser cavity resonators; laser frequency stability; laser tuning; laser variables measurement; semiconductor laser arrays; spectral line breadth; 65 MHz to 3 THz; VCSEL arrays; beat frequency tunability measurement; current tunability; frequency control; heterodyne measurement; lasing wavelength tunability measurement; linewidth measurement; microwave frequencies synthesis; spatial tunability; stabilization; vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diode arrays; wavelength-division multiplexing schemes; Frequency measurement; Frequency synthesizers; Laser tuning; Optical arrays; Optical mixing; Optical surface waves; Quantum well devices; Semiconductor laser arrays; Surface emitting lasers; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
