Unit4

OpticalSources

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ConsiderationswithOpticalSources
y Physicaldimensionstosuitthefiber
y Narrowradiationpattern(beamwidth)
y Linearity(outputlightpowerproportionaltodrivingcurrent)
y Abilitytobedirectlymodulatedbyvaryingdrivingcurrent
y Fastresponsetime(wideband)
y Adequateoutputpowerintothefiber
y Narrowspectralwidth(orlinewidth)
y Stabilityandefficiency
y Drivingcircuitissues
y Reliabilityandcost
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ReviewofSemiconductorPhysics

k B = 1.38 1023 JK -1
a) Energy level diagrams showing the excitation of an electron from the valence band to the conduction
band. The resultant free electron can freely move under the application of electric field.
b) Equal electron & hole concentrations in an intrinsic semiconductor created by the thermal excitation
of electrons across the band gap

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nTypeSemiconductor

a)
b)

Donor level in an n-type semiconductor.

The ionization of donor impurities creates an increased electron concentration distribution.

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pTypeSemiconductor

a)

Acceptor level in an p-type semiconductor.

b)

The ionization of acceptor impurities creates an increased hole concentration distribution

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Intrinsic&ExtrinsicMaterials
y Intrinsicmaterial:Aperfectmaterialwithnoimpurities.

n = p = ni exp(

Eg
2 k BT

n & p & ni are the electron, hole & intrinsic concentrat ions respective ly.

E g is the gap energy, T is Temperature.

y Extrinsicmaterial:donororacceptortypesemiconductors.

pn = ni

y Majoritycarriers:electronsinntypeorholesinptype.
y Minoritycarriers:holesinntypeorelectronsinptype.
y Theoperationofsemiconductordevicesisessentiallybasedontheinjection

andextraction ofminoritycarriers.

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Thepn Junction
Electron diffusion across a pn junction
creates a barrier potential (electric field)
in the depletion region.

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Reversebiasedpn Junction

Areversebiaswidensthedepletionregion,butallowsminoritycarriersto
movefreelywiththeappliedfield.

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Forwardbiasedpn Junction

Lowering the barrier potential with a forward bias allows majority carriers
to diffuse across the junction.

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DirectandindirectBandGapSemiconductors
y Inadirectbandgapsemiconductor,theminimumoftheconduction

bandandthemaximumofthevalencebandareadjacenttoeachother
andelectronandtheholepairscandirectlyrecombine.
y Inthecaseofanindirectsemiconductoranadditionalmomentumof
theelectronisneededtorecombinewithaholeinthevalenceband.

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SemiconductorLightSources
y APN junction (that consistsofdirectbandgapsemiconductor

materials)actsastheactive orrecombination region.

y WhenthePNjunctionisforwardbiased,electronsandholesrecombine

eitherradiatively (emittingphotons) ornonradiatively (emittingheat).

ThisissimpleLEDoperation.
y InaLASER,thephotonisfurtherprocessedinaresonancecavityto

achieveacoherent,highlydirectional opticalbeamwithnarrow
linewidth.

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LEDvs.laserspectralwidth
Laser output is many times
higher than LED output; they
would not show on same scale

Single-frequency laser
(<0.04 nm)

Standard laser
(1-3 nm wide)

LED (30-50 nm wide)

Wavelength

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LightEmission
y BasicLEDoperation: Whenanelectronjumpsfromahigherenergy

state(Ec)toalowerenergystate(Ev)thedifferenceinenergyEc Ev
isreleasedeither
y asaphotonofenergyE=h (radiativerecombination)
y asheat(non radiativerecombination)
CharacteristicsofLEDs:
y
y
y
y
y
y

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Lowspeed(<100200Mb/s)datarates;
Easytocouplewithmultimodefiber;
Mediumopticalpowerintensofmicrowatts;
Requirelesscomplexdrivecircuitry
Nothermaloropticalstabilizationcircuitsneeded;
Fabricatedlessexpensivelywithhigheryields.

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SEMICONDUCTORLIGHTEMITTINGDIODES
y SemiconductorLEDsemitincoherentlight.
y SpontaneousemissionoflightinsemiconductorLEDsproduceslightwaves

thatlackafixedphaserelationship.Lightwavesthatlackafixedphase
relationshipare referredtoasincoherentlight.
y TheuseofLEDsinsinglemodesystemsisseverelylimitedbecausetheyemit

unfocusedincoherentlight.
y EvenLEDsdevelopedforsinglemodesystemsareunabletolaunch sufficient

opticalpowerintosinglemodefibersformanyapplications.
y LEDsarethepreferredopticalsourceformultimodesystemsbecausetheycan

launchsufficientpoweratalowercostthansemiconductorLASER Diodes.

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OPERATINGWAVELENGTH
y Fiberopticcommunicationsystemsoperateinthe
y 850nm,
y 1300nm,and
y 1550nmwavelengthwindows.

y Semiconductorsourcesaredesignedtooperateatwavelengthsthat

minimizeopticalfiberabsorptionandmaximizesystembandwidth
y LEDWavelength:

= hc/E(eV)
( m) =

1.2399
E (eV)

= wavelength in microns
h = Planks constant
C = speed of light
E = Photon energy in eV
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LEDStructures
y Radiance (or brightness) ofLED isameasureoftheopticalpowerradiated

intoaunitsolidangleperunitareaoftheemittingsurface.

y Emissionresponsetime isthetimedelaybetweentheapplicationofa

currentpulseandtheonsetofopticalemission.
y Timedelay isthefactorlimitingthebandwidthwithwhichthesourcecanbe

modulateddirectlybyvaryingtheinjectedcurrent.
y Quantumefficiency isrelatedtothefractionofinjectedelectronholepairs

thatrecombineradiatively.
y Toachievehighradianceandhighquantumefficiency,theLEDsdouble

heterojunctionstructure isused.
y Thedoubleheterojunctionstructure providesameansofconfiningthe

chargecarriersandthestimulatedopticalemissiontotheactiveregionofthe
pn junction.

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LEDStructures
y Carrierconfinementistoachieveahighlevelofradiativerecombination

intheactiveregionofthedevice,whichyieldsahighquantum
efficiency.
y Bandgapdifferencesofadjacentlayersconfinethechargecarriers.
y Opticalconfinementisforpreventingabsorptionoftheemitted

radiationbythematerialsurroundingthepn junction.
y Indexdifferencesofadjoininglayersconfinetheopticalfieldtothe

centralactivelayer.

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Heterojunction
y Heterojunctionistheadvancedjunctiondesigntoreducediffractionlossinthe

opticalcavity.

y ThisisaccomplishedbymodificationoftheLEDmaterialtocontroltheindexof

refractionofthecavityandthewidthofthejunction.

y ThepnjunctionofthebasicGaAsLED/laseriscalledahomojunctionbecause

onlyonetypeofsemiconductormaterialisusedinthejunctionwithdifferent
dopantstoproducethejunctionitself.

y Theindexofrefractionofthematerialdependsupontheimpurityusedandthe

dopinglevel.

y TheHeterojunction regionisactuallylightlydopedwithptypematerialandhas

thehighestindexofrefraction.

y Thentypematerialandthemoreheavilydopedptypematerialbothhavelower

indicesofrefraction.

y Thisproducesalightpipeeffectthathelpstoconfinethelaserlighttotheactive

junctionregion.Inhomojunction,however,thisindexdifference islowandmuch
lightislost.

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GalliumArsenideAluminumGalliumArsenide
Heterojunction
y Structureandindexofrefractionnforvarioustypesofjunctionsingallium

arsenidewithajunctionwidthd.
y (a)isforahomojunction.
y (b)isforagalliumarsenidealuminumgalliumarsenidesingle
heterojunction.
y (c)isforagalliumarsenidealuminumgalliumarsenidedouble
heterojunctionwithimprovedopticalconfinement.
y (d)isforadoubleheterojunctionwithalargeopticalcavityofwidthw.

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Double heterostructureconfiguration

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LightSourceMaterial
y MostofthelightsourcescontainIIIVternary&quaternary

compounds.
y Ga 1 x Al x As byvaryingxitispossibletocontrolthe bandgapenergy

andtherebytheemissionwavelengthovertherangeof800nmto900
nm.Thespectralwidthisaround20to40nm.

y In1x Gax AsyP1y Bychanging0<x<0.47;yisapproximately2.2x,the

emissionwavelengthcanbecontrolledovertherangeof920nmto
1600nm.Thespectralwidthvariesfrom70nmto180nmwhenthe
wavelengthchangesfrom1300nmto1600nm.Thesematerialsare
latticematched

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TypesofLED
ThebasicLEDtypesusedforfiberopticcommunicationsystemsare
SurfaceemittingLED(SLED),
y EdgeemittingLED(ELED),and
y

y LEDperformancedifferenceshelplinkdesignersdecidewhichdeviceis

appropriatefortheintendedapplication.
y Forshortdistance(0to3km),lowdataratefiberopticsystems,SLEDs

andELEDsarethepreferredopticalsource.
y Typically,SLEDsoperateefficientlyforbitratesupto250megabitsper

second(Mb/s).BecauseSLEDsemitlightoverawidearea(widefar
fieldangle),theyarealmostexclusivelyusedinmultimodesystems.

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SurfaceEmittingLEDs
y ThesurfaceemittingLEDisalsoknownastheBurrusLEDinhonorofC.A.

Burrus,itsdeveloper.

y InSLEDs,thesizeoftheprimaryactiveregionislimitedtoasmallcirculararea

of20mto50mindiameter.

y TheactiveregionistheportionoftheLEDwherephotonsareemitted.The

primaryactiveregionisbelowthesurfaceofthesemiconductorsubstrate
perpendiculartotheaxisofthefiber.

Awellisetchedintothesubstratetoallowdirectcouplingof theemittedlight
totheopticalfiber.Theetchedwellallowstheopticalfibertocomeintoclose
contactwiththeemittingsurface.

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EdgeemittingLED
y Consistsofanactivejunctionregion,andtwoguidinglayers.The

guidinglayershavearefractiveindexlowerthantheactiveregionbut
higherthanthesurroundingmaterial.
y Tomatchthetypicalfibercorediameters(50100mm),thecontact

stripesfortheedgeemitterare5070mmwide.Lengthsoftheactive
regionsusuallyrangefrom100to150mm.

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y Excessofelectronsandholesinp andntypematerial(referredtoas

minoritycarriers)iscreatedinsemiconductorlightsourcebycarrier
injectionatthedevicecontacts.
y Theexcesscarrierdensitydecaysexponentiallywithtimeaccordingtothe

relation

n =no exp(t/)
whereno istheinitialinjectedexcesselectrondensityandthetime
constant isthecarrierlifetime.
y Thetotalrateatwhichcarriersaregeneratedisthesumofthe externally

suppliedandthethermallygeneratedrates.
y ExternallysuppliedrateisgivenbyJ/qd,whereJ isthecurrentdensity,q

istheelectroncharge,andd isthethicknessoftherecombinationregion.
Thermalgenerationrateisgivenbyn/ .

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y TherateequationforcarrierrecombinationinanLEDcanbewritten

as

dn /dt =(J/qd) (n/)

y Equilibriumconditionisfoundbysettingrateequationequalto

zero,yieldingthesteadystateelectrondensityintheactiveregion

n =J /qd
y Internalquantumefficiency intheactiveregionisthefractionofthe

electronholepairsthatrecombineradiatively.
y IftheradiativerecombinationrateisRr andthenonradiative

recombinationrateisRnr,thentheinternalquantumefficiencyhint
istheratiooftheradiativerecombinationratetothetotal
recombinationrate:

int =Rr /(Rr +Rnr )

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y Forexponentialdecayofexcesscarriers,theradiativerecombinationlifetime

isr =n/Rr andthenonradiativerecombinationlifetimeisnr =n/Rnr.

y Thus,theinternalquantumefficiencycanbeexpressedas

int =1/[1+(r/nr)]=/r

wherethebulkrecombinationlifetime is

(1/)=(1/r)+(1/nr)
y LEDshavingdouble heterojunctionstructurescanhavequantumefficiencies

of6080%.Thishighefficiencyisachievedbecausethethinactiveregionsof
LEDsmitigatetheselfabsorptioneffects,whichreducesthenonradiative
recombinationrate.

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y ForcurrentI injectedintoLED,therecombinationrateis

Rr +Rnr =I/q
thenwegetthephotongeneratingrateas
Rr =int(I/q).
y Sinceeachphotonhasanenergyh, theopticalpowergeneratedinternally
totheLEDis

Pint =(intI/q).h

y Example:
AdoubleheterojunctionInGaAsPLEDemittingatapeakwavelengthof1310
nmhasradiativeandnonradiativerecombinationtimesof30and100ns,
respectively.Thedrivecurrentis40mA.
y thebulkrecombinationlifetimeis =r.nr/(r+nr)=30x100/(30+100)ns=23.1ns
y theinternalquantumefficiencyisint = /r =23.1/30=0.77
y Pint =int.(hcI/q)
(6.6256x1034J.s)(3x108m/s)(0.040A)
=0.77x =2.92mW.
(1.602x1019C)(1.31x106m)

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y Externalquantumefficiencyext istheratioofthephotonsemitted

fromtheLEDtothenumberofinternallygeneratedphotons.
y AsshowninFig.,onlythatfractionoflightfallingwithinaconedefined

bythecriticalanglec =/2 c =sin1(n2/n1)willcrosstheinterface.

y Here,n1 istherefractiveindexofthesemiconductormaterialandn2 is

therefractiveindexoftheoutsidematerial.

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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y Theexternalquantumefficiencycanbecalculatedfromtheexpression

ext

1
=
4

T ( ) ( 2 sin ) d
0

whereT()istheFresneltransmissivity.
y T()canbesimplifiedwiththeexpressionfornormalincidence

T(0) = 4n1n2 /(n1+n2)2 .

y Fortheoutsidemediumbeingair(n2 =1.0)andlettingn1 =n, wehave
T(0) = 4n/(n+1)2.
y Theexternalquantumefficiencyisthenapproximatelygivenby

ext =1/n(n+1)2.

y ItfollowsthattheopticalpoweremittedfromtheLEDis

P =extPint =Pint/n(n+1)2.
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QuantumEfficiencyandLEDPower
y Example:
y Assumingatypicalvalueof n=3.5fortherefractiveindexofan

LEDmaterial,thenwecangetext =1.41%.
y Thisshowsthatonlyasmallfractionoftheinternallygenerated

opticalpowerisemittedfromthedevice.

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ModulationofLED
y ThefrequencyresponseofanLEDisdeterminedby

1).Thedopinglevelintheactiveregion,
2).Theinjectedcarrierlifetimei intherecombinationregion,
3).TheparasiticcapacitanceoftheLED.
y Ifthedrivecurrentismodulatedatafrequency,theopticaloutput

powerofthedevicewillvaryas

P()=Po[1+(i)2]1/2 ,
wherePo isthepoweremittedatzeromodulationfrequency.
y SinceP()= I2()R,theratiooftheoutputelectricalpoweratthe

frequency tothepoweratzeromodulationis
Ratioelec =10.log[P()/P(0)]
=10.log[I2()/I2(0)]

whereI()istheelectricalcurrentinthedetectioncircuitry.
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ModulationofLED
y Theelectrical3dBpointoccursatthatfrequencypointwherethe

detectedelectricalpowerP()=P(0)/2.Thishappenswhen
I2()/I2(0)=1/2
orI()/I(0)=1/2 =0.707.
y Theoptical3dBbandwidthofanLEDcanbedeterminedfrom

Ratiooptic =10.log[P()/P(0)]
=10.log[I()/I(0)]

y Theoptical3dBpoint

occursatthatfrequency
wheretheratioofthe
currentsisequalto1/2.
y AsshowninFig.,this
correspondstoanelectrical
powerattenuationof6dB.

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LASERDIODES
y Laseractionistheresultofthreekeyprocesses:

1).photonabsorption,
2).spontaneousemission,and
3).stimulatedemission.

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LASERDIODES
y SpontaneousEmissions
9 Whenaphotonofenergyh12 impingesonthesystem,anelectroninstateE1 can

absorbthephotonenergyandbeexcitedtostateE2,asshowninFig.417a.

9 Theelectronwillshortlyreturntothegroundstate,therebyemittingaphoton

ofenergyh12 =E2 E1.

9 Thespontaneousemissions areisotropicandofrandomphase,andthusappear

asanarrowbandgaussianoutput.

y StimulatedEmissions
9 AsshowninFig.,ifaphotonofenergyh12 impingesonthesystemwhilethe

electronisstillinitsexcitedstate,theelectronisimmediatelystimulatedto
droptothegroundstateandgiveoffaphotonofenergyh12.

9 Theemittedphotoninthestimulatedemission isinphasewiththeincident

photon.Stimulatedemissionwillexceedabsorptionifthepopulationofthe
excitedstatesisgreaterthanthatofthegroundstate.Thisconditionisknown
aspopulationinversion.

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CharacteristicsofLDs
9 Suitableforsystemsofbandwidth>200MHz;
9 Typicallyhaveresponsetimeslessthan1ns;
9 Havingopticalbandwidthsof2nmorless;
9 Capableofcouplingseveraltensofmilliwattsofluminescentpower;
9 Can couple with optical fibers with small cores and small modefield

diameters.

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FabryPerotResonator
y TheradiationinthelaserdiodeisgeneratedwithinaFabryPerot

resonatorcavity,asshowninFig.
y Thiscavityisapproximately250500mlong,515mwide,and0.10.2

mthick.

y Thesedimensionsarecommonlyreferredtoasthelongitudinal,lateral,

andtransversedimensions ofthecavity,respectively.

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FabryPerotResonator
y IntheLDFabryPerotresonator,apairofflat,partiallyreflecting

mirrorsaredirectedtowardeachothertoenclosethecavity.
y Thelasercavitycanhavemanyresonantfrequencies.
y Thedevicewillemitlightatthoseresonantfrequenciesforwhichthe

gainissufficienttoovercomethelosses.

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DFB(DistributedFeedBack)Lasers
y Typicaldistributedfeedback(DFB)laser configurationisshowninFig.

ThelasingactionisobtainedfromtheincorporatedBraggreflectorsor
distributedfeedbackcorrugationsalongthelengthofthediode.
y Theopticalradiationwithintheresonancecavityofalaserdiodesetsupa

patternofelectricandmagneticfieldlinescalledthemodesofthecavity.
y Themodesofthecavitycanbeseparatedintotwoindependentsetsof

transverseelectric(TE)andtransversemagnetic(TM)modes.

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ModesandThresholdConditions
y ThelongitudinalmodesarerelatedtothelengthL ofthecavityand

determinetheprincipalstructureofthefrequencyspectrumofthe
emittedopticalradiation.
y SinceL ismuchlargerthanthelasingwavelengthof~1m,many

longitudinalmodescanexist.
y Lateralmodeslieintheplaneofthepn junction.Thesemodesdependon

thesidewallpreparationandthewidthofthecavity,anddeterminethe
shapeofthelateralprofileofthelaserbeam.
y TransversemodesareassociatedwiththeEMfieldandbeamprofilein

thedirectionperpendiculartotheplaneofthepn junction.
y Thesemodeslargelydeterminesuchlasercharacteristicsastheradiation

patternandthethresholdcurrentdensity.

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ModesandThresholdConditions

y Todeterminethelasingconditionsandtheresonantfrequencies, we

expresstheEMwavepropagatinginthelongitudinaldirectionin terms
oftheelectricfieldphasor

E(z,t)=I(z).exp[j(t z)]
whereI(z) istheopticalfieldintensity, istheopticalradianfrequency,
and isthepropagationconstant.
y Thestimulatedemissionrateintoagivenmodeisproportionaltothe

intensityoftheradiationinthatmode.

y Theradiationintensityataphotonenergyh variesexponentiallywith

thedistancez thatittraversesalongthelasingcavityaccordingtothe
relationship

I(z)=I(0).exp{[g(h) ~(h)]z}
whereg isthegaincoefficientintheFabryPerotcavity,~ isthe
effectiveabsorptioncoefficientofthematerialintheopticalpath,and
istheopticalfieldconfinementfactor thefractionofopticalpower
intheactivelayer.
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ModesandThresholdConditions
y Lasingoccurswhenthegainofguidedmodesexceedtheopticalloss

duringoneroundtripthroughthecavity.

y Duringtheroundtrip z=2L,onlythefractionsR1 andR2 oftheoptical

radiationarereflectedfromthelaserends.
y R1 andR2 aretheFresnelreflectioncoefficientsfortheopticalreflection
atinterfacebetweenmaterialshavingrefractiveindicesn1 andn2 given
by

R =[(n1n2)/(n1+n2)]2

y Fromthislasingcondition,becomes

I(2L)=I(0)R1R2.exp{2L[g(h) ~(h)]}
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ModesandThresholdConditions
y Atthelasingthreshold,asteadystateoscillationtakesplace,andthe

magnitudeandphaseofthereturnedwavemustbeequaltothoseof
theoriginalwave:
and

I(2L)=I(0)fortheamplitude

exp[j2L]=1 forthephase.

y Thisequationgivesinformationconcerningtheresonantfrequencies

oftheFabryPerotcavity.
y Theconditiontojustreachthelasingthresholdisthepointat which

theopticalgainisequaltothetotallosst inthecavity.
y Hencethisconditionis

gth =t
=~ +(1/2L).ln(1/R1R2)
=~ + end
whereend isthemirrorlossinthelasingcavity
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ModesandThresholdConditions
y Forlasingtooccur,wemusthavethegaing > gth.Thismeansthatthe

pumpingsourcethatmaintainsthepopulationinversionmustbe
sufficientlystrongtosupportorexceedalltheenergyconsuming
mechanismswithinthelasingcavity.

y Therelationshipbetweenopticaloutputpoweranddiodedrivecurrentis

presentedinFig.

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ModesandThresholdConditions
y Atlowdiodecurrents,onlyspontaneousradiationisemitted.Boththespectralrange

andthelateralbeamwidthofthisemissionarebroadlikethatofanLED.
y Adramaticandsharplydefinedincreaseinthepoweroutputoccursatthelasing

threshold.Asthistransitionpointisapproached,thespectralrangeandthebeamwidth
bothnarrowwithincreasingdrivecurrent.
y Thefinalspectralwidthof~1nmandthefullynarrowedlateral beamwidthofnominally

510 arereachedjustpastthethresholdpoint.
y Thethreshold current Ith isdefinedbyextrapolationofthelasingregionofthecurve,as

showninFig.
y Athighpoweroutputs,theslopeofthecurvedecreasesbecauseofjunctionheating.
y Forlaserstructurewithstrongcarrierconfinement,thethresholdcurrentDensityfor

stimulatedemissioncanbewellapproximatedby:

g th = J th

: constant depends on specific device construction

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LaserDiodeRateEquations
Forapn junctionwithacarrierconfinementregionofdepthd :
y The rateequation governsthenumberofphotons isgivenby
d /dt =Cn +Rsp /ph
=stimulatedemission+spontaneousemission+photonloss.
y The rateequation governsthenumberofelectronsnisgivenby

dn/dt =J/qd n/sp Cn

=injection+spontaneousemission+stimulatedemission.
y Here,C isacoefficientdescribingthestrengthoftheopticalabsorptionandemission

interactions;
y Rsp istherateofspontaneousemissionintothelasingmode,
y ph isthephotonlifetime,
y sp isthespontaneousrecombinationlifetime,
andJ istheinjectioncurrentdensity.

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LaserDiodeRateEquations
y AssumingRsp negligibleandnotingthatd/dt mustbepositivewhen is

small,wehave

Cn 1/ph > 0
Thisshowsthatn mustexceedathresholdvaluenth for toincrease.
y ThethresholdvaluecanbeexpressedintermsofthethresholdcurrentJth

neededtomaintainaninversionleveln =nth whenthenumberof

photons =0:
nth/sp =Jth/qd

y The photonandelectron rateequationsinthesteadystateconditionat

thelasingthreshold aresolvedwith
0=Cnths +Rsp s/ph
0=J/qd nth/sp Cnths
wheres isthesteadystatephotondensity.
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LaserDiodeRateEquations
y Addingaboveequationsandsolvingfors yieldsthenumberof

photonsperunitvolume:

s =(ph/qd)(JJth) phRsp

y The1st terminthisequationisthenumberofphotonsresultingfrom

stimulatedemission(Thepowerisconcentratedinoneorafewmodes).

y The2nd termintheaboveequationgivesthespontaneouslygenerated

photons.(Thepowerisnotmodeselective).

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Externalquantum efficiency
y Numberofphotonsemittedperradiativeelectronholepairrecombination

abovethreshold,givesustheexternalquantumefficiency.

ext =

i ( g th )
g th

q dP
dP(mW)
=
= 0.8065[ m]
E g dI
dI (mA)
y Notethat:

i 60 % 70 %;

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49

ResonantFrequencies
y Theconditionexp[j2L]=1holdswhen2L =2m,wheremisan

integer.

y Using =2n/ forthepropagationconstant,wehave

m =L/(/2n)=(2Ln/c) ;wherec=.
y Thecavityresonateswhenanintegernumbermofhalfwavelengths

spanstheregionbetweenthemirrors.

y Therelationshipbetweengainandfrequencycanbeassumedtohave

theGaussianform

g()=g(0)exp[(o)2/22]
whereo isthewavelengthatthecenterofthespectrum, isthe
spectralwidthofthegain,andthemaximumgaing(0)isproportional
tothepopulationinversion.

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LaserDiodeRateEquations
y TheoutputspectrumofamultimodelaserfollowstheplotgiveninFig.

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LaserDiodeRateEquations
y Tofindthefrequencyspacing,considersuccessivemodesof

frequenciesm1 andm.wehave
m1=(2Ln/c)m1 andm=(2Ln/c)m
y Subtractingthesetwoequationsyields

(2Ln/c)(m m1)=(2Ln/c)()=1
fromwhichwehavethefrequencyandwavelengthspacingas

=c /2Ln and =2 /2Ln .

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ResonantFrequencies
y Example:

AGaAslaseroperatingat850nmhasa500mlengthanda
refractiveindexn=3.7.Whatarethefrequencyandwavelength
spacings?If,atthehalfpowerpoint, o =2nm,whatisthe
spectralwidth ofthegain?
y Solution:

=81GHz,
=0.2nm.
withg()=0.5g(0) =1.70nm.

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ModulationofLaserDiodes
ModulationofLDscanberealizedby:

y DirectModulation
varyingthelaserdrivecurrentwiththeinformationstreamto
produceavaryingopticaloutputpower.

y ExternalModulation
neededforhighspeedsystems(>2.5Gb/s)tominimize
undesirablenonlineareffectssuchachirping.

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ModulationofLaserDiodes
y LimitationonLDsModulationRate:
9 Thespontaneouslifetime sp isafunctionofthesemiconductor

bandstructureandthecarrierconcentration.
9 Thestimulatedcarrierlifetimest dependsontheopticaldensity

inthelasingcavityandisontheorderof10ps.
9 Thephotonlifetimeph istheaveragetimethatthephoton

residesinthelasingcavitybeforebeinglosteitherbyabsorption
orbyemissionthroughthefacets

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ModulationofLaserDiodes
y AttheonsetsofacurrentpulseIp,aperiodoftimetd givenby

td = ln{Ip /[Ip+(IB Ith)]}

isneededtoachievethepopulationinversiontoproduceagainto
overcometheopticallossesinthelasingcavity.
y InaboveequationtheparameterIB isthebiascurrentand isthe

averagecarrierlifetimeinthecombinationregionwhenthetotal
currentI =Ip +IB isclosetoIth.

y Thedelaytimecanbeeliminatedbydcbiasingthediodeatthelasing

thresholdcurrent.

y Pulsemodulationiscarriedoutbymodulatingthelaserinthe

operatingregionabovethreshold.

y Inthisregion,thecarrierlifetimeisshortenedtothestimulated

emissionlifetime,sothathighmodulationratesarepossible.

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ModulationofLaserDiodes
y Whenusingadirectlymodulatedlaserdiodeforhighspeedtransmission

systems,themodulationfrequencycanbenolargerthanthefrequencyof
therelaxationoscillationsofthelaserfield.
y Therelaxationoscillationdependsonboththespontaneouslifetimeand

thephotonlifetime.
y Foralineardependenceoftheopticalgainoncarrierdensity,the

relaxationoscillationoccursapproximatelyat

f =(1/2).[1/(spph)1/2].[I/Ith 1]1/2
y Sincesp is~1nsandph is~2psfora300mlonglaser,thenwhenthe

injectioncurrentI isabouttwicethethresholdcurrentIth,themaximum
modulationfrequencyisafewGHz.

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ModulationofLaserDiodes
y Exampleofalaserhavingrelaxationoscillationpeakat3GHzis

showninFig.

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LaserNoise
y Modal(speckel)Noise:

Fluctuationsinthedistributionofenergyamongvariousmodes.
y ModepartitionNoise:

Intensityfluctuationsinthelongitudinalmodesofalaserdiode,
mainsourceofnoiseinsinglemodefibersystems.
y ReflectionNoise:

Lightoutputgetsreflectedbackfromthefiberjointsintothelaser,
coupleswithlasingmodes,changingtheirphase,andgeneratenoise
peaks.Isolators&indexmatchingfluidscaneliminatethese
reflections

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LIGHTSOURCELINEARITY
y IntheFig.,theelectricanalogsignals(t) isusedtomodulate

directlyanopticalsourceaboutabiaspointIB.Withnosignal
input,theopticalpoweroutputisPt.

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LIGHTSOURCELINEARITY
y Whenthesignals(t)isapplied,theopticaloutputpowerP(t)is

P(t)=Pt[1+ms(t)]
y Here,m isthemodulationindex definedas

m =I /IB

whereIB = IB forLEDsand IB =IB Ith forlaserdiodes.TheparameterI is

thevariationincurrentaboutthebiaspoint.
y Topreventdistortionsintheoutputsignal,themodulationmust be

confinedtothelinearregionofthePIcurve.
y IfI >IB (i.e.,m >100%),thelowerportionofthesignalgetscutoffand

severedistortionwillresult.

y Typical m valuesforanalogapplicationsrangefrom0.25to0.50.

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LIGHTSOURCELINEARITY

y Ifthesignalinputtoanonlineardeviceisasimplecosinewavex(t)=Acost,

theoutputwillbe

y(t)=Ao +A1cost +A2cos2t +A3cos3t

y Theoutputsignalconsistsofacomponentattheinputfrequency plus

spuriouscomponentsatzerofrequency,atthe2nd harmonicfrequency2,at
the3rd harmonicfrequency3,andsoon.
y Theaboveeffectisknownasharmonicdistortion.Theamountofnthorder

distortionisgivenby
nthorderharmonicdistortion=20log(An/A1)
y Todetermineintermodulationdistortion (IMD),themodulatingsignalof

nonlineardeviceistakentobex(t)=A1cos1t +A2cos2t.

y Theoutputsignalwillbeoftheformy(t)=m,n Bmn.cos(m1 + n2)

wherem,n =0,1,2,3,...
Thissignalincludesalltheharmonicsof1 and2 plus1 + 2,1 + 22,andso
on.
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