Studies of noise in semiconductor laser arrays. Final report Feb 89-Feb 90
Measurements were made of noise in laser arrays, both commercial gain-guided and experimental 10 element index-guided. Relative Intensity Noise (RIN) was found to be comparable to single element gain guided arrays, with approximately 15dB more noise than from a distributed feedback (DFB) laser. Comparable results for gain-guided and index-guided lasers, with supporting theoretical studies, indicate that mode competition is probably the source of the increased noise. Because the arrays produce more power, the increased noise does not necessarily degrade the signal-to-noise ratio. The results of this study indicate that if the system is operating in the receiver-noise-limited regime (<0.1 milliwatts of detected optical power), use of an array will increase the overall signal-to-noise ratio. It was also shown that a reduction in laser noise can be achieved by low frequency modulation. For example, modulation at 10 MHz resulted in a decrease in noise by 5 to 10 dB at 100 MHz.
- Research Organization:
- Dayton Univ., OH (USA). School of Engineering
- OSTI ID:
- 5769722
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-232411/9/XAB; CNN: F30602-88-D-0028
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Prepared in cooperation with University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Center for Laser Studies, Rept. no. 93928-12/RI-62240X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Ultra-low-threshold, high-bandwidth, very-low-noise operation of 1. 52 /mu/m GaInAsP/InP DFB buried ridge structure laser diodes entirely grown by MOCVD
Transfer standard for the spectral density of relative intensity noise of optical fiber sources near 1550 nm