Suspended Reflector Structure for Tunable Laser Thermal Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tunable lasers face high power consumption during thermal tuning due to heat loss and thermal crosstalk, which affects their efficiency and performance in coherent optical communications.
Innovation Solution
A reflector structure for tunable lasers is designed with a suspended structure and lateral support structures to enhance thermal isolation and resistance, concentrating heat in the reflector region and reducing overall power consumption, while maintaining the flatness of the reflectance spectrum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thermal tuning is used to achieve narrow laser ray width, then the laser ray width is reduced to below 400 kHz, but the power consumption of the tuning component becomes excessively large (greater than 100 mW)
Solution Approach 1:
The reflector structure is segmented into multiple functional layers including waveguide layer, lower cladding layer, upper cladding layer, and heating layer, with the heating layer positioned specifically above the waveguide layer. This segmentation allows localized thermal tuning only in the critical reflector region, reducing overall power consumption while achieving the required narrow laser ray width below 400 kHz
Solution Approach 2:
The heating layer is positioned locally above the waveguide layer in the reflector region, creating localized thermal tuning rather than heating the entire laser structure. This local quality approach concentrates thermal energy where needed for wavelength tuning, significantly reducing power consumption from over 100 mW to below 100 mW while maintaining the narrow ray width requirement
2Speed
If current injection tuning is used to achieve fast transient response at nanosecond level, then the response speed is improved, but the waveguide loss increases greatly causing laser ray width to reach megahertz level
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electrical current injection mechanism with a thermal tuning mechanism using a heating layer. This substitution eliminates the high waveguide loss associated with current injection, achieving narrow laser ray width below 400 kHz, while accepting a slower response time suitable for applications where ray width is critical
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution improves thermal tuning efficiency, reduces power consumption, and maintains the performance of the tunable laser by minimizing heat loss and thermal crosstalk, thus meeting the requirements of coherent optical communications.
Implementation Method 1
Temperature of the heater can be changed by tuning power of the heater to change temperature of the reflector region. Finally, a refractive index of the reflector region is changed according to a temperature effect to tune a wavelength location of a reflection peak of a reflector.
Implementation Method 2
A reflector structure for tunable lasers is designed with a suspended structure and lateral support structures to enhance thermal isolation and resistance, concentrating heat in the reflector region
Data Source
AI summary
A reflector structure for a tunable laser and a tunable laser. A super structure grating is used as a reflector structure, and a suspended structure is formed around a region in which the super structure grating is located, to implement, using the suspended structure, thermal isolation around the region in which the super structure grating is located, and increase thermal resistance, such that less heat is lost, and heat is concentrated in the region in which the super structure grating is located, thereby improving thermal tuning efficiency of the reflector structure. Moreover, lateral support structures are disposed on two sides of the suspended structure, to provide a mechanical support for the suspended structure. In addition, regions in the super structure grating that correspond to any two lateral support structures on a same side of the suspended structure fall at different locations in a spatial period of the super structure grating.