Noise and distortion properties of widely-tunable sampled-grating DBR lasers

Summary form only given. The intensity noise, intermodulation distortion and dynamic range characteristics of sampled-grating DBR lasers are measured across the whole tuning range. The shot noise limited RIN property, which is below - 160 dB/Hz, is reported for a widely tunable laser. The spur-free dynamic range is between 100-112 dB.Hz/sup 2/3/. Both the noise and linearity are uniform over the tuning range of 50 nm, and are relatively insensitive to detuning.