High-power quantum-dot tapered tunable external-cavity lasers based on chirped and unchirped structures

• Published in: Optics express Vol. 22; no. 19; pp. 22854 - 22864
• Main Authors: Haggett, Stephanie, Krakowski, Michel, Montrosset, Ivo, Cataluna, Maria Ana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 22-09-2014
• Subjects: Amplifiers, Electronic; Equipment Design; Lasers, Semiconductor; Light; Quantum Dots; Semiconductors
• ISSN: 1094-4087; 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.022854

A high-power tunable external cavity laser configuration with a tapered quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier at its core is presented, enabling a record output power for a broadly tunable semiconductor laser source in the 1.2 - 1.3 µm spectral region. Two distinct optical amplifiers are investigated, using either chirped or unchirped quantum-dot structures, and their merits are compared, considering the combination of tunability and high output power generation. At 1230 nm, the chirped quantum-dot laser achieved a maximum power of 0.62 W and demonstrated nearly 100-nm tunability. The unchirped laser enabled a tunability range of 32 nm and at 1254 nm generated a maximum power of 0.97 W, representing a 22-fold increase in output power compared with similar narrow-ridge external-cavity lasers at the same current density.