Feature

Uncooled Lasers for Deployment of Fiber in the Loop

C.E. Zah, R. Bhat, T.P. Lee, Z. Wang, D. Darby, D. Flanders, and J.J. Hsieh

Among other factors, the wide-spread deployment of fiber in the loop (FITL) is hindered by the lack of availability of low-cost laser transmitters that emit at 1.3 μm and operate reliably over a temperature range of —40° to 85°C. To date, commercial laser transmitters have relied on thermoelectric (TE) coolers to maintain the laser temperature constant against the variations in the ambient temperature. However, the TE cooler and associated controller add substantial costs to the laser transmitter. A significant new advancement over existing approaches has been made by prototyping a laser that incorporates a strained quantum well structure based on the AlGaInAs/InP material system.