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Photodigm unveils 1310 nm surface-emitting laser

Photodigm has produced a surface-emitting laser with the performance of a DFB laser and the advantages of a VCSEL. The company has also received a $1 million government contract.
Photodigm, an optical components supplier based in Richardson, Texas, has achieved a breakthrough in 1310 nm Grating-outcoupled Surface Emitting (GSE) laser technology. The company has produced devices with single-mode output powers up to 6 mW, essentially providing the performance of a DFB laser with the advantages of a VCSEL.

Until now, 1310 nm lasers have been available only as edge-emitting lasers. While the industry has devoted huge resources towards the development of surface-emitting 1310 nm VCSELs, the results have been generally unsuccessful due to inherent difficulties of developing and qualifying a new material structure. Photodigm s GSE laser uses a proven edge-emitting epitaxial material structure based on AlInGaAs/InP, and relies on first and second order gratings for the DBR reflectors and the outcoupler.

"This represents a significant breakthrough for Photodigm," said John Spencer, president and CEO. "For the first time we have shown that a small outcoupler grating can deliver a significant amount of power into single-mode fiber. With this unique semiconductor laser architecture, we expect to provide major improvements in the cost and performance of a wide range of photonic devices in the enterprise and access markets."

Photodigm s devices exhibit single mode operation with output powers up to 6 mW, threshold currents below 20 mA and slope efficiencies of 0.1 mW/mA. The lasers have a beam divergence 5 deg x 7 deg, modulation speeds of 2.5 Gbit/s and a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) greater than 35 dB. The narrow beam divergence provides superior fiber coupling capability and, because it is a surface-emitting device, the laser offers significant efficiencies in testing and packaging.

Photodigm receives $1 million contract

In a separate development, Photodigm has been awarded a contract for approximately $1 million from the US government to develop a high-power surface-emitting laser. This program will build on Photodigm s GSE laser technology by including a lens-like lateral layer for mode control. The resulting lens-like grating-outcoupled surface emitting (LLGSE) laser is designed to produce a "high brightness" beam at 975 nm with an output power up to 10 W.

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