Abstract

We report on the design, growth, and fabrication of InAs/InP quantum dash (QD) gain materials and their use in lasers for optical network applications. A noise performance comparison between QD and quantum well (QW) Fabry–Perot (F-P) lasers has been made. By using the QD gain material we have successfully developed and assembled C-band coherent comb laser (CCL) modules with an electrical fast feedback loop control system to ensure a targeted mode frequency spacing. The frequency spacing was maintained within ±100 ppm and the operation wavelengths locked on the desired ITU grid within 0.01 nm over a period of several months. We also investigated a 25-GHz C-band QD CCL with an external cavity self-injection feedback locking (SIFL) system to reduce the optical linewidth of each individual channel to below 200 kHz in the wavelength range from 1537.55 nm to 1545.14 nm. The RF mode beating signal 3-dB bandwidth was also reduced from 9 kHz to approximately 500 Hz with this SIFL system. These QD CCLs with ultra-low relative intensity noise (RIN), ultra-narrow optical linewidth, and ultra-low timing jitter are excellent laser sources for multi-terabit optical networks. Using a 34.2 GHz QD CCL we demonstrate 10.8 Tbit/s (16QAM 48 × 28 GBaud PDM) coherent data transmission over 100 km of standard single mode fiber (SSMF) and 5.4 Tbit/s (PAM-4 48 × 28 GBaud PDM) aggregate data transmission capacity over 25 km of SSMF with error-free operation.

Ultra-narrow linewidth quantum dot coherent comb lasers with self-injection feedback locking

Z. G. Lu, J. R. Liu, P. J. Poole, C. Y. Song, and S. D. Chang
Opt. Express 26(9) 11909-11914 (2018)

High performance InAs/InP quantum dot 34.462-GHz C-band coherent comb laser module

Z. G. Lu, J. R. Liu, C. Y. Song, J. Weber, Y. Mao, S. D. Chang, H. P. Ding, P. J. Poole, P. J. Barrios, D. Poitras, S. Janz, and M. O’Sullivan
Opt. Express 26(2) 2160-2167 (2018)

Monolithic InAs/InP quantum dash dual-wavelength DFB laser with ultra-low noise common cavity modes for millimeter-wave applications

Mohamed Rahim, Khan Zeb, Zhenguo Lu, Grzegorz Pakulski, Jiaren Liu, Philip Poole, Chunying Song, Pedro Barrios, Weihong Jiang, and Xiupu Zhang
Opt. Express 27(24) 35368-35375 (2019)

Performance of quantum-dash mode-locked lasers (QD-MLLDs) for high-capacity coherent optical communications

Mostafa Khalil, Yuxuan Xie, Essam Berikaa, Jiaren Liu, Zhenguo Lu, Philip J. Poole, Guocheng Liu, John Weber, David V. Plant, and Lawrence R. Chen
Opt. Express 32(1) 217-229 (2024)

InAs/InP quantum dot mode-locked laser with an aggregate 12.544 Tbit/s transmission capacity

Guocheng Liu, Philip J. Poole, Zhenguo Lu, Jiaren Liu, Youxin Mao, Martin Vachon, and Pedro Barrios
Opt. Express 30(3) 3205-3214 (2022)