Y-branch design keeps Syntune lasers in tune
The lasers are based on a novel, patented chip design that provides high performance using standard chip processes. The design is known as a "modulated grating Y-branch" or MG-Y, and will be presented in a paper at OFC on February 24 at 2:15 pm in session TuE – Photonic Integration (see Syntune paper at OFC).
As the name implies, the MG-Y design consists of a Y-shaped waveguide with reflector sections in the two arms of the Y, and a multi-mode interferometer and gain region in other section. The device is manufactured as an InP/InGaAsP buried heterostructure laser with a 400-micron-long quantum well gain section, which is butt jointed to the InGaAsP passive section.
Syntune says that the key advantage of the Syntune laser design is that it is highly manufacturable, allowing the laser chip manufacturing to be outsourced. The fabrication process is essentially that of a standard DBR laser, with 5 MOVPE steps.
The first batch of MG-Y lasers had an average output power of about 14 dBm (25 mW) across a wide tuning range of almost 46 nm (from 1524.4 to 1570.3 nm). The power variation was less than 1.5 dB, while the side-mode suppression ration was above 40 dB.
Syntune CEO, Pierre-Jean Rigole, says "These lasers show that tunability can be achieved without prohibitive manufacturing expense, which is good news for our customers and the industry in general." The lasers are available in chip-on-carrier (S0100), and module (S1000, S1500) formats.
Syntune was founded by former executives of tunable laser manufacturer Altitun, which was gobbled up by ADC during the telecom boom and subsequently shut down (see ADC closes former Altitun and Spectracom units).
The Y-branch lasers were developed under an EU-funded project NEWTON (New Widely Tunable Lasers for Optical Networks) of which Altitun/ADC was a partner. When Syntune was formed, the company decided to license the MG-Y patent from its owners Gayton Photonics, IMEC and the University of Ghent in Belgium.
Syntune is a fabless company, with facilities for chip design, chip testing and burn-in on a small production scale. Chip processing and packaging are carried out in close collaboration with selected industrial partners.
