The distributed feedback (DFB) laser is a key component for fiber communication due to its single-mode performance, but it usually requires complex and expensive regrowth after grating definition. The laterally-coupled distributed feedback (LC-DFB) laser has the advantage of a simple fabrication process without epitaxial regrowth, but the LC-DFB laser usually has a low coupling coefficient as the optical feedback is provided by the evanescent field and Fabry-Parot (FP) longitudinal modes arise from the pair of parallel cleaved facets. In this work, a triangular prism etched facet is proposed to suppress the FP longitudinal modes from cleaved facets of a 1.3 μm LC-DFB laser. The length-width ratio of a triangular prism facet is optimized on the compromise between the reflection and length by finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The vertical etched facet with depth of 4 μm and tip curvature of 100 nm and the lateral gratings with depth of 1.8 μm and gap of 200 nm are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching with the gas mixtures of Cl₂/CH₄/Ar and CH₄/H₂/Ar, respectively. The FP longitudinal modes of the etched-facet laterally-coupled distributed feedback (EF-LC-DFB) laser are effectively suppressed compared to the counterpart of cleaved facets, and the stable single-mode operation of EF-LC-DFB is demonstrated with the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 54.35 dB.

Date Published: 12 March 2019
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 11023, Fifth Symposium on Novel Optoelectronic Detection Technology and Application, 110233Z (12 March 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2517896

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11023:
Fifth Symposium on Novel Optoelectronic Detection Technology and Application
Qifeng Yu; Wei Huang; You He, Editor(s)