1.5-1.6 /spl mu/m VCSEL for metro WDM applications

The performance of an electrically pumped, continuously tunable, single-epitaxy VCSEL emitting in the 1530-1620 nm wavelength regime is reported. The VCSELs exhibit a continuous, repeatable and hysteresis-free wavelength-tuning characteristic. Further, the VCSELs are directly modulated at 2.5 Gbps and have >45 dB side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) over the entire tuning range. The performance of such VCSELs make them highly promising for reconfigurable WDM metropolitan area networks.