Study of the effects of cavity mode spacing on mode-hopping in III–V/SI hybrid photonic crystal lasers

Abstract

We present a design methodology for hybrid lasers to realise mode-hop free operation by controlling the cavity mode spacing. In this study, a compact hybrid photonic crystal laser (H-PhCL) was employed which allowed a reduction of the Fabry–Perot length of the laser cavity and eliminated the need for an active mode stabilisation mechanism in order to realise mode-hop free operation. The H-PhCL was formed by butt-coupling a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) with a two-dimensional silicon (Si) photonic crystal (PhC) cavity. Continuous stable single frequency operation with >40 dB side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of the laser was achieved for gain currents of up to 100 mA, i.e., up to four times the threshold current. The shorter length of the laser cavity enabled single frequency operation due to the selection of a single longitudinal mode by the PhC narrowband reflector. Various longitudinal mode spacing regimes were studied to explain the mode-hop free characteristics of the H-PhCL. The proposed hybrid laser design methodologies can be adapted to eliminate mode-hopping in laser wavelength.