High-speed direct Modulation of widely tunable MG-Y laser

The dynamic performance of the modulated-grating Y-branch laser is presented. In order to reach over 40-nm tuning range, the devices utilize an additive Vernier effect and relative tuning of two reflecting gratings. The device shows high (>13 dBm ex-facet) and uniform (<1.2-dB variation) steady state output power over the tuning range, and sidemode suppression ratio >40 dB. The laser behavior under small- and large-signal operation conditions is investigated. The laser exhibits a resonance frequency of 7.4-8.8 GHz at 80-mA bias. A 10-Gb/s eye diagram measurement showed high extinction ratio and signal-to-noise ratio.