JPH01270379A - Optical amplifier - Google Patents
Optical amplifierInfo
- Publication number
- JPH01270379A JPH01270379A JP9944488A JP9944488A JPH01270379A JP H01270379 A JPH01270379 A JP H01270379A JP 9944488 A JP9944488 A JP 9944488A JP 9944488 A JP9944488 A JP 9944488A JP H01270379 A JPH01270379 A JP H01270379A
- Authority
- JP
- Japan
- Prior art keywords
- optical
- light
- semiconductor laser
- amplified
- incident
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 55
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 27
- 230000003321 amplification Effects 0.000 abstract description 11
- 238000003199 nucleic acid amplification method Methods 0.000 abstract description 11
- 230000010355 oscillation Effects 0.000 abstract description 7
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 abstract description 4
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 abstract description 3
- 238000002310 reflectometry Methods 0.000 abstract 2
- 229910001218 Gallium arsenide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 10
- 238000005253 cladding Methods 0.000 description 7
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 240000005528 Arctium lappa Species 0.000 description 1
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000007796 conventional method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004907 flux Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000010354 integration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010884 ion-beam technique Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010030 laminating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052814 silicon oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/50—Amplifier structures not provided for in groups H01S5/02 - H01S5/30
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/40—Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups H01S5/02 - H01S5/30
- H01S5/4025—Array arrangements, e.g. constituted by discrete laser diodes or laser bar
- H01S5/4031—Edge-emitting structures
- H01S5/4056—Edge-emitting structures emitting light in more than one direction
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Semiconductor Lasers (AREA)
Abstract
Description
【発明の詳細な説明】
［卒業上の１１用分野１
本発明は光通信や光論理回路などに用いられる光増幅器
及び半導体レーザに関する。DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Graduation Field 1] The present invention relates to optical amplifiers and semiconductor lasers used in optical communications, optical logic circuits, and the like.
［従来の技術］
従来の技術としては、半導体レーザを発振閾値近傍にま
で順電流を沫し、半導体レーザ端面から被増幅光を注入
する方式が知られていた。[Prior Art] As a conventional technique, a method has been known in which a forward current is applied to a semiconductor laser to near the oscillation threshold, and amplified light is injected from the end face of the semiconductor laser.
〔発明が解決しようとする課題］
しかしながら、従来の光増幅は半導体レーザ端面から光
注入を行なうため、戻り光による被増幅光源への干渉が
生じてしまい、光アイソレークなどの特殊な部品を用い
なければならなかった。[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in conventional optical amplification, light is injected from the end facet of a semiconductor laser, which causes interference with the light source to be amplified by the returned light, and requires the use of special components such as optical isolators. I had to.
また、半導体レーザ端面に効率よく被増幅光を入射する
ためには半導体レーザ端面に無反射コートを施す必要が
あるが、この処置は同時に半導体レーザの発振閾値の増
加を伴なうため、自己発熱による動作の不安定性が生じ
てしまう。In addition, in order to efficiently inject the amplified light into the semiconductor laser end face, it is necessary to apply an anti-reflection coating to the semiconductor laser end face, but this treatment also increases the oscillation threshold of the semiconductor laser, resulting in self-heating. This causes instability in operation.
そこで、本発明は従来のこのような問題点を解決するた
め、光アイソレータなどが不要となる光増幅を行なうこ
とにある。Therefore, in order to solve these conventional problems, the present invention aims to perform optical amplification that does not require an optical isolator or the like.
〔課題を解決するための手段］
以上のような問題点を解決するため、本発明の光増幅器
は、
（１）半導体レーザに被増幅光を注入する光増幅器にお
いて、前記被増幅光が前記半導体レーザの光共振軸方向
とは異なる方向から前記半導体レーザの光利得媒体に注
入されること。[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the optical amplifier of the present invention has the following features: (1) In an optical amplifier that injects light to be amplified into a semiconductor laser, the light to be amplified is injected into the semiconductor laser. Injection into the optical gain medium of the semiconductor laser from a direction different from the optical resonance axis direction of the laser.
（２）半導体し・−ザの光共振軸方向とは異なる方向か
ら前記半導体レーザの光利得媒体への光導波部を有する
こと。(2) It has an optical waveguide section that connects the optical gain medium of the semiconductor laser from a direction different from the optical resonance axis direction of the semiconductor laser.
を特徴としている。It is characterized by
［実 施 例１ 以下に本発明の実施例を図面にもとづいて説明する。[Implementation Example 1] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.
（実施例−１）
本発明の第１の実施例として、面発光型の光増幅器につ
いて第１図を用いて説明する。(Example 1) As a first example of the present invention, a surface-emitting optical amplifier will be described with reference to FIG.
第１図は、ｎ−ＧａＡｓ基板１０１にｎ−Ａｌ２ｏ、ｓ
Ｇａｏ、ｔ Ａｓクラッド層１０２、Ｇａ、Ａ ｓ活
性層１０３、Ｐ−Ａｌ２ｏ、ｘ Ｇａｏ、ｔ Ａｓクラ
ッド層１０４、Ｐ−Ａｌ２ｏ、＋ Ｇａｏ、ｓ Ａｓキ
ャップ層１０６を液相成長法（ＬＰＥ法）を用いて順次
積層した後、Ｐ−Ａｌ２ｏ、＋ Ｇａｏ、ｓ Ａｓキャ
ップ層１０６をエツチングし、ＳｉＯ□１０５を積層し
た後、ｎ−ＧａＡｓ基板１０１をエツチングし、電極１
０７，１０９を蒸着したものに反射膜１０８を形成した
ものであるに
こで、電極１０７は反射鏡も兼ね、反射膜１０８との間
で共振器を形成している。FIG. 1 shows n-Al2o, s on an n-GaAs substrate 101.
A Gao, t As cladding layer 102, a Ga, As active layer 103, a P-Al2o, After sequentially laminating the P-Al2o, +Gao, and SAs cap layer 106, and layering the SiO□105, the n-GaAs substrate 101 is etched, and the electrode 1 is etched.
The electrode 107 also serves as a reflecting mirror and forms a resonator with the reflecting film 108.
そして、反射ｌｉｔ ０８の反射率制御により、反射Ｍ
１０８側から光出力が得られるように設計を行なってい
る。Then, by controlling the reflectance of the reflection lit 08, the reflection M
The design is such that optical output can be obtained from the 108 side.
また、紙面に示した面には低反射コート（反射率３％）
を施しである。In addition, the surface shown in the paper is coated with a low reflection coating (3% reflectance).
is alms.
次に、この光増幅器の動作について説明する。Next, the operation of this optical amplifier will be explained.
電極１０９．１０７より発振閾値近傍に電流バイアスを
与λる。A current bias is applied near the oscillation threshold from electrodes 109 and 107.
この状態で被増幅光１１０を入射すると、この光増幅素
子で光が増幅され、出射光１１１が得られる。When the amplified light 110 is incident in this state, the light is amplified by this optical amplification element, and an output light 111 is obtained.
この光増幅では出射光１１１と被増幅光１１０とはまっ
たく独立した光束であるため、出射光１１１の被増幅光
源への戻り光は０．０１％以下であり、光アイソレータ
などを必要とせずにすむ。In this optical amplification, the emitted light 111 and the amplified light 110 are completely independent light fluxes, so the amount of light returned to the amplified light source of the emitted light 111 is less than 0.01%, and there is no need for an optical isolator. Finish.
また、入射面に低反射コートを施しても発振閾値などに
変化がないため、被増幅光１１０と光増幅器との結合を
密にとることができ、利得にして４０ｄＢ （１００倍
）が得られた。Furthermore, even if a low-reflection coating is applied to the incident surface, there is no change in the oscillation threshold, etc., so the amplified light 110 can be closely coupled to the optical amplifier, and a gain of 40 dB (100 times) can be obtained. Ta.
（実施例−２）
本発明の第２の実施例として被増幅光を導くための光導
波路をもつ光増幅器について第２図を用いて説明する。(Embodiment 2) As a second embodiment of the present invention, an optical amplifier having an optical waveguide for guiding light to be amplified will be described with reference to FIG.
第２図は、ｎ−ＧａＡｓ基板２０１を反応性イオンビー
ムエツチング（ＲＩＢＥ）法により１字状にエツチング
した後、ｎ−Ａ（２゜５Ｇａｏ、ｙＡｓクラッド層２０
２、ＧａＡｓ活性層２０３、Ｐ−ＡＱｏ、ｓ Ｇａｏ、
ｙ Ａｓクラッド層２０４、ｎ−ＧａＡｓブロック層２
０５をＬＰＥ法で形成した後、Ｚｎ拡散領域２０６を形
成した半導体レーザである。FIG. 2 shows an n-GaAs substrate 201 etched into a single character shape by reactive ion beam etching (RIBE), and then etched with an n-A (2°5 Gao, yAs cladding layer 20).
2. GaAs active layer 203, P-AQo, s Gao,
y As cladding layer 204, n-GaAs block layer 2
This is a semiconductor laser in which a Zn diffusion region 206 is formed after forming 05 by the LPE method.
また、共振軸方向（出射光２１１と垂直な）共振面２０
７には反射率９５％、共振面２０９には１０％の反射率
を得られるように非対称コートを施し、発振閾値の低減
と光利得の増加をはかっている。また、被増幅光２１０
の入射面２０８には３％の反射率（９７％透過）のコー
ティングを施し、被増幅光２１０を効率よく入射させて
いる。In addition, the resonance surface 20 in the resonance axis direction (perpendicular to the emitted light 211)
7 has a reflectance of 95%, and the resonant surface 209 is coated with an asymmetric coating to obtain a reflectance of 10%, thereby reducing the oscillation threshold and increasing the optical gain. In addition, the amplified light 210
The incident surface 208 of is coated with a 3% reflectance (97% transmission) to allow the amplified light 210 to enter efficiently.
ここで、この半導体レーザを発振閾値近傍に電流バイア
スすると、共振軸方向にはレーザ光が射出される。Here, when this semiconductor laser is biased with current near the oscillation threshold, laser light is emitted in the direction of the resonance axis.
また、被増幅光２１０の入射径路は利得をもつ導波路と
なる。Further, the incident path of the amplified light 210 becomes a waveguide having a gain.
ここで、被増幅光２１０を入射すると、導波路作用によ
りストライブ状の光利得部２１２に導かれ、光増幅が行
なわれる。Here, when the to-be-amplified light 210 is incident, it is guided to a striped optical gain section 212 by a waveguide effect, and optical amplification is performed.
なお、実施例−１，２ではＡｊ２ＧａＡｓ系の化合物半
導体を用いた例で説明したが、これはもちろん他のＩＩ
Ｉ −Ｖ族、例久ばＩｎＰ系のものを用いてもよい。In addition, in Examples 1 and 2, an example using an Aj2GaAs-based compound semiconductor was explained, but this is of course applicable to other II
An I-V group, for example, an InP type material may be used.
また、光共振器部には分布帰還（ＤＦＢ）構造や分布反
射（ＤＢＲ）構造を用いてもよい。Furthermore, a distributed feedback (DFB) structure or a distributed reflection (DBR) structure may be used in the optical resonator section.
［発明の効果］ 本発明の光増幅器には以下に示すような効果な有する。[Effect of the invention] The optical amplifier of the present invention has the following effects.
（１）被増幅光と出力光が異なる光路をとるため、出力
光が被増幅光源にまわり込むことがない。(1) Since the amplified light and the output light take different optical paths, the output light does not go around to the amplified light source.
そのため、半導体レーザなと戻り光に対して動作が不安
定になる光源を用いても安定した増幅が行な大、発長安
定性を特に要求される光通信等において極めて応用上重
要である。Therefore, even if a light source such as a semiconductor laser whose operation is unstable due to the return light is used, stable amplification can be performed, and it is extremely important in applications such as optical communications where particularly high growth stability is required.
また、従来被増幅光を効率よく注入して利得をとろうと
すると、増幅用半導体レーザ自体の動作が外部光路との
干渉により動作特性が不安定になったが、本発明の光増
幅器ではだと＾結合効率１００％としても御坊増幅用半
導体レーザの動作には影響を及ぼさず、安定して高利得
を得ることができる。In addition, when conventionally trying to obtain gain by efficiently injecting the light to be amplified, the operation characteristics of the amplifying semiconductor laser itself became unstable due to interference with the external optical path, but with the optical amplifier of the present invention, Even if the coupling efficiency is 100%, it does not affect the operation of the Gobo amplification semiconductor laser, and a high gain can be stably obtained.
また、光アイソレータを必要としないため、光学系が簡
素になり、モノリシック集積回路を構成することができ
る。Furthermore, since no optical isolator is required, the optical system is simplified and a monolithic integrated circuit can be constructed.
また、個別部品で構成してたときには、低価格高信頼性
を得ることができる。Furthermore, when it is composed of individual parts, low cost and high reliability can be obtained.
（Ｉｔ）半導体レーザの構造にかかわらず増幅動作がで
きる。(It) Amplification operation is possible regardless of the structure of the semiconductor laser.
実施例−１で示したように１面発光型レーザ構造を用い
ても光増幅が行な＾る。すると、基板表面から光出力を
取り出せるため、二次元集積化が容易であり、並列演算
回路の構造を得ることができ、画像認識等の応用分野で
は数十倍の演算速度を得ることができる。また、面発光
型であるため、端面発光型にしばしば生じる光学的損傷
（Ｃ００）が生じず、光増幅素子を駆動する電子回路が
極めて容易となる上、高信頼性が得られる。As shown in Example 1, optical amplification can also be performed using a single surface emitting laser structure. Then, since the optical output can be taken out from the substrate surface, two-dimensional integration is easy and a parallel arithmetic circuit structure can be obtained, and in application fields such as image recognition, the arithmetic speed can be several tens of times faster. Furthermore, since it is a surface-emitting type, optical damage (C00) that often occurs in edge-emitting types does not occur, and the electronic circuit for driving the optical amplification element is extremely simple, and high reliability can be obtained.
第１図は本発明の実施例−１を説明するための面発光型
光増幅器の正面図である。
第２図は本発明の実施例−２を説明するための光増幅器
の斜視図である。
１０１− ・・ｎ−ＧａＡｓ基板
１０２−−− ｎ−Ａｆｉｏ、ｉ Ｇａｏ、ｖ Ａｓク
ラッド層
１０３・・・ＧａＡｓ活性層
１０４ ・・・Ｐ ＡＡｏ、ｍ Ｇａｏ、ｔ Ａｓク
ラッド層
１０５・ ・ ・ＳｉＯｘ
１０６ ・−・Ｐ−Ａｆｉｏ、＋ Ｇａｏ、ｅ Ａｓキ
ャップ層
１０７・・・電極
１０８・・・反射膜
１０９・・・電極
ｉｉｏ・・・被増幅光
１１１・・・出射光
２０１ ＝ −・ｎ−ＧａＡｓ基板
２０２ ・・・ｎ ＡＡａ、ｚ Ｇａｏ、ｔ Ａｓク
ラッド層
２０３ ・−−ＧａＡｓ活性層
２０４− ・−Ｐ−ＡＱｏ、ｘ Ｇａｏ、ｔ Ａｓクラ
ッド層
２０５−−− ｎ−ＧａＡｓブロック層２０６・・・Ｚ
ｎ拡散領域
２０７・・・共振面
２０８・・・入射面
２０９・・・共振面
２１０・・・被増幅光
２１１・・・出射光
以上
出願人 セイコーエプソン株式会社
代理人 弁理士 上 柳 雅 誉（他１名）７１ｊ
／１０FIG. 1 is a front view of a surface-emitting optical amplifier for explaining Example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an optical amplifier for explaining Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 101-... n-GaAs substrate 102--- n-Afio, i Gao, v As cladding layer 103... GaAs active layer 104... P AAo, m Gao, t As cladding layer 105... SiOx 106・-・P-Afio, +Gao, e As cap layer 107...electrode 108...reflection film 109...electrode iio...amplified light 111...outgoing light 201 = -・n-GaAs Substrate 202... n AAa, z Gao, t As cladding layer 203 - - GaAs active layer 204 - - P-AQo, x Gao, t As cladding layer 205 - - n-GaAs block layer 206... Z
n diffusion region 207...resonance surface 208...incident surface 209...resonance surface 210...amplified light 211...outgoing light and above Applicant: Seiko Epson Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney: Masa Homare Kamiyanagi ( 1 other person) 71j /10
Claims (2)
いて、前記被増幅光が前記半導体レーザの光共振軸方向
とは異なる方向から前記半導体レーザの光利得媒体に注
入されることを特徴とする光増幅器。(1) An optical amplifier that injects light to be amplified into a semiconductor laser, characterized in that the light to be amplified is injected into an optical gain medium of the semiconductor laser from a direction different from the optical resonance axis direction of the semiconductor laser. optical amplifier.
前記半導体レーザの光利得媒体への光導波部を有するこ
とを特徴とする請求項１記載の光増幅器。(2) The optical amplifier according to claim 1, further comprising an optical waveguide portion extending from a direction different from the optical resonance axis direction of the semiconductor laser to the optical gain medium of the semiconductor laser.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP9944488A JPH01270379A (en) | 1988-04-22 | 1988-04-22 | Optical amplifier |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP9944488A JPH01270379A (en) | 1988-04-22 | 1988-04-22 | Optical amplifier |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| JPH01270379A true JPH01270379A (en) | 1989-10-27 |
Family
ID=14247551
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP9944488A Pending JPH01270379A (en) | 1988-04-22 | 1988-04-22 | Optical amplifier |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPH01270379A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1996013084A1 (en) * | 1994-10-21 | 1996-05-02 | Besse Pierre Andre | Process for controlling saturation and non-linear effects in optical semiconductor amplifiers |
-
1988
- 1988-04-22 JP JP9944488A patent/JPH01270379A/en active Pending
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1996013084A1 (en) * | 1994-10-21 | 1996-05-02 | Besse Pierre Andre | Process for controlling saturation and non-linear effects in optical semiconductor amplifiers |
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