Scalable passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers for microprocessor clocking

James P. Siepmann; Adam Rybaltowski

doi:10.1117/12.640882

28 February 2006 Scalable passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers for microprocessor clocking

James P. Siepmann, Adam Rybaltowski

Proceedings Volume 6115, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XIV; 611504 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.640882
Event: Integrated Optoelectronic Devices 2006, 2006, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The integration of photonic clocking in microprocessors is anticipated to occur during the 2008-2012 high-volume manufacturing (HVM) cycle. Though photonic clocking can be achieved through electronic modulation or actively mode-locking a laser, a more cost-effective and better solution would be to use internal cavity passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers. Not only do these lasers offer low-cost, simplicity, and ease of integration, but prototypes that are amenable to HVM are currently available. We present such a laser that is scalable by design to clock rates of 9 to hundreds of GHz and wavelengths in the 800 to 1100+ nm range. These lasers utilize internal saturable absorber(s) to passively mode-lock a semiconductor laser with relatively high peak powers. Experimental results from these lasers show an RF spectrum signal peak that is at least 40 dB above the noise floor with a -10 dB width of <1 MHz. The RMS jitter as determined by an oscilloscope with a precision timebase module was found to be ~1 ps which is among the best for this type of laser. Autocorrelation was used to confirm mode-locking and pulse width. In addition to experimental data, a theory and discussion on how the different characteristics of these lasers can be tailored for various commercial applications such as microprocessor clocking will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

James P. Siepmann and Adam Rybaltowski "Scalable passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers for microprocessor clocking", Proc. SPIE 6115, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XIV, 611504 (28 February 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.640882

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