Investigations of thermal crosstalk in laser arrays for WDM applications

• Published in: Journal of lightwave technology Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. 1888 - 1894
• Main Authors: Klepser, B., Hillmer, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-10-1998; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical applications; Crosstalk; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Fiber lasers; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Heat sinks; Heat transfer; Laser modes; Laser optical systems: design and operation; Laser theory; Laser tuning; Metrological applications; Modulation, tuning, and mode locking; Optical arrays; Optics; Optoelectronic devices; Physics; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Transistors; Wavelength division multiplexing; Heating surface; Distributed feedback laser; Thermal conductivity; Experimental study; Tuning; Wavelength; Thin film; Laser array
• ISSN: 0733-8724; 1558-2213
• DOI: 10.1109/50.721077

Our studies on the thermal crosstalk of laser arrays with integrated thin-film heaters involved theoretical as well as experimental investigations. Comparing the effects of intentional geometrical variations of the device design, we found that the relative thermal crosstalk depends critically on the distance between the active area and the film heater. The most striking result is that a minimization of the thermal resistivity of the device does not always lead to a reduced thermal crosstalk. We demonstrate that an additional heat barrier close to the active region and/or an improved heat transfer between the submount and the heat sink may reduce the relative thermal crosstalk, a result completely unexpected from intuitive considerations.