Mode-locked laser arrays for WDM applications

Abstract

High bandwidth mode-locked laser arrays are being developed for a bit-parallel wavelength (BPW) link for high performance computer networks. The system design requires a 10 element WDM transmitter with an aggregate bandwidth in the 100-800 Gb/s range. The devices employ a colliding pulse mode-locked (CPM) cavity consisting of a 5 section, 3 contact symmetric cavity: a saturable absorber at the center of the cavity, 2 gain sections and 2 grating sections. The devices can operate as passively mode-locked lasers; however, in order to reduce the noise in the mode-locked laser and to synchronize the signals from all the lasers in the array, the contact to the saturable absorber section is designed for a G-S-G probe for application of a synchronizing RF signal.