ANALYSIS AND DESIGN CRITERIA OF 3-SECTION DBR TUNABLE LASERS

Three-section DBR tunable lasers emitting in the 1.55 μm region are studied through a theoretical model which takes into account thermal effects and exploits an accurate calculation of the optical parameters. Static modal competition is discussed for transverse and longitudinal modes in the operation at and above threshold. The static tuning characteristics are presented; a saturation of the wavelength shift is found for control current densities of ≈20 k A - cm−2, due to Auger recombination processes and heating effects. A dependence of the tuning ranges from the section lengths and the waveguide thickness results and some design criteria are derived. © 1990 IEEE