55 GHz Bandwidth Distributed Reflector Laser

We have demonstrated a 1300-nm short-cavity distributed reflector (DR) laser having 55 GHz bandwidth (BW), and successful 112-Gb/s transmission using four-level pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM-4), without any pre-equalization for the transmitter. Two effects were realized in the design and operation of the DR laser: photon-photon ( P-P) resonance and detuned-loading. The P-P resonance effect was realized between the DFB and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) modes that coexisted in the cavity of the DR laser. The detuned-loading effect was used to effectively enhance the differential gain through the dynamic change in the mirror reflectivity that occurs on the flank of the DBR mirror due to the frequency chirp under modulation. Despite a limited RC cutoff frequency of 22 GHz, a wide modulation BW of 55 GHz was achieved. It is shown that the RC limitation was counteracted by the combined effects of the detuned-loading, which reduces the damping of relaxation oscillations, and an in-cavity FM-AM conversion effect that created a high-pass filter effect in the modulation response. This will be discussed by way of simulations and experimentally observed eye diagrams for 10 Gb/s NRZ and 28 Gbd PAM-4. The short-cavity DR laser achieved 112-Gb/s PAM-4 transmission over links having a range of dispersions from -28 to +7 ps/nm without precompensation on the transmitter.