Chirp compensation and SBS suppression using a multi-section laser

Abstract

A method includes driving a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section. An apparatus includes a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from copending provisional patent applications U.S. Ser. No. 61/342,896, filed Apr. 21, 2010 and U.S. Ser. No. 61/342,897, filed Apr. 21, 2010 the entire contents of both of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to the field of optical communications. More particularly, an embodiment of the invention relates to chirp compensation and SBS suppression using multi-section lasers.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Direct modulated Distributed Feedback (DFB) lasers are commonly used in hybrid fiber-coax systems to transmit analog RF signals over long spans of optical fiber. The laser current is directly modulated to produce a modulation of the optical output. The resulting amplitude modulated signal is transmitted over an optical fiber and, at the end of the fiber, converted back into an electrical signal using a photodetector. This method of encoding and transmitting an analog RF signal has the benefit of simplicity and low cost. However, modulating the current of a DFB laser also results in a corresponding modulation of the optical frequency or wavelength of the laser. This is often referred to as chirp, particularly in digital transmission.

If the direct modulated laser is operating at a wavelength near the zero dispersion point of the fiber, the chirp resulting from direct current modulation will not cause any significant problems. However, if the laser is operating at a wavelength where the fiber does not have zero dispersion, the chirp associated with current modulation will result in distortion of the signal as it propagates down the dispersive fiber. Although lasers can be designed to operate at or near the zero dispersion point of the fiber, it is often desired to transmit signals at other wavelengths to take advantage of the properties of the fiber at those wavelengths. For example, 1550 nm is popular because most deployed fiber has minimum loss at this wavelength. Therefore, the optical signal can go further without needing amplification or regeneration. Unfortunately, dispersion is typically non-zero at 1550 nm.

One way to overcome the issue of distortion caused by chirp interacting with fiber dispersion is to use dispersion compensating fiber. This is fiber that has opposite dispersion to that of the deployed fiber. The optical signal can be sent through a span of dispersion compensating fiber before or after the deployed fiber and, by matching the dispersion-length coefficients, the effects of dispersion can be effectively canceled. However, this method has several disadvantages. Not only does the dispersion compensating fiber add optical loss, the cancellation of dispersion will only work for a specific length of transmission fiber and usually only over a narrow range of wavelengths. So the use of dispersion compensating fiber in anything but a simple single wavelength, point to point transmission can be very complicated. Also, the dispersion compensating fiber can have a temperature dependence that can results in degradation of compensation with changes in temperature.

Another way to overcome the problem of chirp-dispersion induced distortion is to reduce or eliminate the chirp from the source. The elimination of chirp is the preferred method of overcoming dispersion induced distortion because the technique is not dependent upon fiber length or upon wavelength. Therefore it is well suited for point to point, point to multi-point and WDM transmission systems. Low or no chirp amplitude modulation is most commonly accomplished by externally modulating the optical signal with a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator. However, eliminating the chirp results in a very narrow linewidth source which dramatically lowers the SBS threshold, limiting the launch power and transmission distance. To overcome this problem, an optical phase modulator is often incorporated into external modulators. With this, a wavelength modulation can be added to the optical signal to broaden the linewidth of the laser and raise the SBS threshold. This wavelength modulation will typically be at frequencies greater than 2 times the highest frequency component of amplitude modulation signal in order to avoid 2^nd order intermodulation distortion from affecting the amplitude modulation signal.

Despite the advantages provided by external modulation techniques, the high cost of external modulators limits their widespread use. What is desired is a low cost transmitter, similar in cost to a directly modulated DFB laser, capable of producing amplitude modulation with little or no chirp and with means to suppress SBS and related noise/distortion effects without detrimental effects on the amplitude modulated signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is a need for the following embodiments of the invention. Of course, the invention is not limited to these embodiments.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a process comprises: driving a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section. According to another embodiment of the invention, a machine comprises: a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section.

These, and other, embodiments of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating various embodiments of the invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given for the purpose of illustration and does not imply limitation. Many substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements may be made within the scope of an embodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and embodiments of the invention include all such substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain embodiments of the invention. A clearer concept of embodiments of the invention, and of components combinable with embodiments of the invention, and operation of systems provided with embodiments of the invention, will be readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore nonlimiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings (wherein identical reference numerals (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements). Embodiments of the invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the following description presented herein. It should be noted that the features illustrated the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an injected current controlled refractive index multi-section DFB laser, representing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an injected current controlled refractive index multi-section DFB laser with filters, representing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an amplitude and wavelength modulated multi-section DBR laser, representing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an amplitude and wavelength modulated multi-section DBR laser with filters, representing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a phase synched multi-section DFB laser, representing an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the nonlimiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well known starting materials, processing techniques, components and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

Within this application one or more publications is(are) referenced by Arabic numeral(s), within parentheses or brackets. The disclosure(s) of this(these) publication(s) in its(their) entireties is(are) hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein for the purpose of indicating the background of embodiments of the invention and illustrating the state of the art.

Although a low cost, direct modulated, low chirp, single section DFB laser transmitter could be created, these lasers would suffer from limited launch power and other related noise and distortion effects due to their narrow linewidth. A multisection laser, on the other hand, can not only achieve low or no chirp, but can also be driven with a signal designed to increase the SBS threshold and reduce noise and distortion caused by a narrow linewidth source in an integrated, low cost manner. In addition, a multi-section laser may also be able to provide control over chirp, allowing a controlled amount of chirp to be added to the amplitude modulated signal. This can be used, in combination with fiber dispersion, to compensate for other unspecified sources of distortion if desired.

A multi-section laser can be driven with appropriate signals to provide optical amplitude modulation with wavelength modulation or chirp reduced or substantially eliminated. This can be used to transmit amplitude modulated signals over longer distances of dispersive fiber with noise and distortion due to chirp-dispersion interaction substantially reduced or eliminated relative to a single section laser. The laser can be simultaneously driven with signals to provide optical wavelength modulation with amplitude modulation substantially reduced or eliminated. This can be used to independently broaden the optical Iinewidth of the source, increasing the Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) threshold, allowing higher launch power without reducing clipping margin of the amplitude modulated signal. The wavelength modulation can also reduce or substantially eliminate other sources of noise and distortion.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The embodiment uses an integrated multi-section DFB laser containing 3 sections. In such a laser, each contact is electrically isolated from the adjacent contact with sufficient resistance so that current through the given contact is contained primarily (substantially) in the section under that contact. This results in the ability to control the relative index of refraction independently in the relative section of the laser with the injected current. In another embodiment, the multi-section laser can include a 3 section Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) laser in which there is a gain section, a phase section and a grating section. In yet another embodiment, the multi-section laser can include of a 2 section DFB laser.

In the case of the 3 section DFB laser, the sum of the DC current applied to the 3 sections of the laser controls the DC output power. The ratio of DC drive current of the center electrode to the outer electrodes control the output mode and chirp response as explained in reference 1. The underlying reason for this is complex, but it is suffice to say that when appropriately biased, modulation applied to the center electrode will produce chirp opposite in phase to the chirp produced when modulation is applied to the front electrode. However, both contacts will provide substantially in-phase amplitude modulation.

When modulation is applied in phase to both the center and front contacts, amplitude modulation with reduced chirp will occur. The ratio of the modulation amplitudes can be adjusted to account for differences in the chirp efficiency of the two inputs. Thus, amplitude modulation with substantially no chirp can be obtained. Such an amplitude modulated signal can be transmitted over long spans of dispersive fiber with little or no additional distortion caused by fiber dispersion. Alternatively, a controlled amount of chirp, either positive or negative, can be added by appropriately increasing or decreasing the relative modulation amplitudes of the appropriate section of the laser. This can be used to compensate for some form of distortion when the signal is transmitted over dispersive media.

When modulation is applied 180 degrees out of phase to both contacts, this will result in wavelength modulation with reduced amplitude modulation. The modulation ratio can be adjusted to account for differences in the amplitude modulation efficiencies to substantially eliminate the amplitude modulation. This can be used to add a signal that is designed to increase the optical linewidth of the laser to suppress SBS effects. It should be noted that it is not required to eliminate the amplitude modulation component associated with the wavelength modulation in order to obtain effective optical linewidth enhancement and SBS suppression. However, to avoid reducing the clipping margin of the amplitude modulation signal, it is best to produce as little amplitude modulation as possible.

An electrical circuit as shown in FIG. 1 can be used to facilitate the application of appropriate drive signals to a 3 section DFB laser from an amplitude modulation input and wavelength modulation input. The circuit splits the amplitude modulation signal into two substantially in-phase signals. Means are provided to adjust the relative amplitude of each of these split signals to control chirp as outlined above. Similarly, the wavelength modulation signal is split into 2 paths that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Means are provided to after the splitter to adjust the relative amplitude of each of these signals so the corresponding amplitude modulation can be controlled as outlined above. The in-phase amplitude modulation signal is combined with the in-phase chirp modulation signal and applied to the modulation input of the front section of the laser through a bias T. The other in-phase amplitude modulation signal is combined with the 180 degree out of phase chirp modulation signal and applied to the center section of the laser through a bias T. This effectively combines the signals so the laser can be simultaneously amplitude modulated and wavelength modulated.

When applied to transmission of CATV signals, the CATV signal is applied to the amplitude modulation input and the SBS suppression signal is applied to the wavelength modulation input. As CATV signals typically include a carrier multiplexed signal with carriers ranging in frequency from 50 MHz to 1 GHz, in order to avoid 2^nd order intermodulation distortion products from falling in the CATV transmission band, the SBS suppression signal should not contain frequencies below 2 GHz.

The circuit shown in FIG. 1 is a generic circuit that illustrates the basic concept of how an amplitude modulated signal can be combined with a wavelength modulation signal to provide the appropriate drive signals to a 3 section DFB laser 100. It is not necessarily optimized for broadband chirp suppressed amplitude modulation. Also, the wavelength modulation input does not need to be broadband for SBS suppression. An alternative circuit is shown in FIG. 2. This circuit incorporates a filter(s) to correct for differences in the chirp response of the 2 sections of the laser to provide better broadband compensation of chirp. It also shows an electrical delay element 220, τ, to illustrate that such elements can be added to help achieve the desired broadband phase match. An amplitude correcting filter 230 is also shown before the splitter. This can be used to help achieve the desired amplitude versus frequency response. Finally, the SBS suppression modulation source 240 is shown as a local source that has both 0 and 180 outputs eliminating the need for the 180 splitter. This source is also coupled into the appropriate sections of the laser using a frequency selective coupling method, eliminating the need for a broadband coupler. If it is desired to have more than 1 source for SBS suppression, a second source can be easily added by providing a second source and band pass filter.

In the case of a multi-section DBR laser, the functional separation of gain, phase and grating sections makes the concept of how separately modulating the various sections of a multi-section laser can produce amplitude modulation with controlled chirp and wavelength modulation with controlled amplitude modulation easier to understand. In this case, optical amplitude of the laser is primarily affected by the current injection into the gain section of the laser. However, injection of current in this section will affect the index of refraction, so a compensating change in current in the phase section is provided to keep the longitudinal. mode fixed. For wavelength modulation, the phase section of the laser is modulated. This changes the longitudinal mode wavelength. A corresponding modulation in the grating section keeps the loss minima in line with the longitudinal mode so no amplitude or mode hop changes occurs as a result of a change in the lasing wavelength.

A circuit that provides independent inputs for amplitude modulation and wavelength modulation as well as control over the “purity” of each input for driving a DBR laser is shown in FIG. 3. The amplitude modulation input is split into 2 paths 310, 320 that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. One path drives the gain section of the laser to provide amplitude modulation. The other is combined with the wavelength modulation signal to provide the wavelength modulation suppression. The wavelength modulation signal is also split with a 0 degree splitter 350. One path provides the wavelength modulation signal to the phase section as indicated above. The other path provides the grating modulation signal to provide the required change in index of the grating section to keep the loss minima in line with the longitudinal mode, preventing mode hops and reducing amplitude modulation associated with changes in cavity loss.

Like the circuit shown in FIG. 1, the circuit shown in FIG. 3 is a generic circuit. It is not necessarily optimized for broadband chirp suppressed amplitude modulation or narrowband wavelength modulation with a local source. An example of such a circuit is shown in FIG. 4. Similar to the circuit shown in FIG. 2, it incorporates filters to compensate for the difference in response between the various sections of the laser providing improved broadband chirp suppressed amplitude modulation. It also shows a delay time element 430 as an example of how such element can be used to provide the required modulation phase to each section of the laser. In addition, an amplitude correcting filter 460 is shown just after the amplitude modulation input as an example of how such a filter can be used to correct for changes in the broadband amplitude response of the system. Finally, the SBS suppressing wavelength modulator has 2 outputs. One is coupled directly into the laser grating section through a bias T and the other is coupled into the phase section with a frequency selective filter method.

The 3 section DFB laser implementation shown above has the advantage that the device is similar to a conventional single section DFB laser and can provide both chirp control and SBS suppression. However, the device may have limited modulation depth over which chirp control and/or SBS suppression can be achieved due to current clipping in the individual sections of the laser. The 3 section DBR laser should not have this problem as long as the phase and grating sections are biased high enough. However, it may suffer from problems associated with limited modulation bandwidth due to the relative slow carrier recombination rate in the phase and grating section. In addition, the linewidth of the laser is broadened due to current injection in the phase and grating sections which may cause problem. Finally, it is a more complex departure from a conventional single section DFB lasers. A 2 or a 3 section DFB laser with all sections driven in phase may provide a good compromise between modulation depth capability and chirp control, yet still be able to suppress SBS effects without compromise. Such an implementation is show in FIG. 5. For simplicity, the implementation is shown as a 2 section DFB laser.

In this case, the bias of the 2 sections can be set to control chirp. The in-phase modulation of each section, intended to provide primarily amplitude modulation, can be set to provide equivalent current modulation indexes. This will insure that current clipping in each section will correlate with optical clipping and therefore, no degradation associated with current clipping in individual sections will occur before optical clipping. In order to insure the wavelength modulation does not result in current clipping, an SBS suppression carrier can be mixed with the amplitude modulation signal to provide an amplitude modulated SBS suppression signal. This can be accomplished with a broadband mixer 550 61 with DC offset as shown in FIG. 5. The amplitude modulation of the SBS suppression signal is in phase with the amplitude modulation of the laser so that when the instantaneous bias is high, the SBS suppression amplitude is high and when the instantaneous bias is low, the SBS suppression amplitude is low. As being the mixing of the SBS suppression carrier with the amplitude modulation signal will produce additional frequency terms in the SBS suppression signal, the SBS suppression carrier frequency should ideally be at least 3 times the highest frequency component in the amplitude modulation signal in order to avoid 2^nd order intermodulation distortion from affecting the amplitude transmission band. It should be noted that this SBS suppression scheme can be applied to a single section laser with non zero chirp as well. However, a 2 section laser will produce a wavelength modulation, even if chirp is zero.

The circuits shown in the figures above can have numerous variations yet achieve the same effect. In addition, the circuit elements shown may be fixed by design or adjustable for improved tuning. For example, the chirp response filter shown in FIG. 2 may be adjustable to account for differences in the chirp response from laser to laser and/or to achieve the desired chirp response versus frequency output from the transmitter. Similarly, the delay element may have provisions to allow for adjustments. Finally, all adjustable circuit elements can be either manually adjustable or adjustable under the control of a microprocessor. When under the control of a microprocessor, the adjustable elements can be set by user inputs and/or automatically changed in response to other inputs such as temperature or feedback from other sensors.

The transmitter may also incorporate predistortion circuits to provide a predistorted signal to the amplitude modulation input to compensate for non-linear response of the laser, residual chirp interacting with fiber dispersion or other unspecified sources of distortion. The purpose of these circuits are to produce a distortion equal in magnitude but opposite in phase to the distortion produce in the non-linear element or elements along the transmission path so the received signal will have improved distortion performance. Such circuits are commonly used in transmitters with directly modulated lasers as well as externally modulated lasers and are described in detail elsewhere.

DEFINITIONS

The term program and/or the phrase computer program are intended to mean a sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system (e.g., a program and/or computer program, may include a subroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load library and/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer or computer system).

The term substantially is intended to mean largely but not necessarily wholly that which is specified. The term approximately is intended to mean at least close to a given value (e.g., within 10% of). The term generally is intended to mean at least approaching a given state. The term coupled is intended to mean connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term proximate, as used herein, is intended to mean close, near adjacent and/or coincident; and includes spatial situations where specified functions and/or results (if any) can be carried out and/or achieved. The term distal, as used herein, is intended to mean far, away, spaced apart from and/or non-coincident, and includes spatial situation where specified functions and/or results (if any) can be carried out and/or achieved. The term deploying is intended to mean designing, building, shipping, installing and/or operating.

The terms first or one, and the phrases at least a first or at least one, are intended to mean the singular or the plural unless it is clear from the intrinsic text of this document that it is meant otherwise. The terms second or another, and the phrases at least a second or at least another, are intended to mean the singular or the plural unless it is clear from the intrinsic text of this document that it is meant otherwise. Unless expressly stated to the contrary in the intrinsic text of this document, the term or is intended to mean an inclusive or and not an exclusive or. Specifically, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present). The terms a and/or an are employed for grammatical style and merely for convenience.

The term plurality is intended to mean two or more than two. The term any is intended to mean all applicable members of a set or at least a subset of all applicable members of the set. The term means, when followed by the term “for” is intended to mean hardware, firmware and/or software for achieving a result. The term step, when followed by the term “for” is intended to mean a (sub)method, (sub)process and/or (sub)routine for achieving the recited result. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control.

CONCLUSION

The described embodiments and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. Although embodiments of the invention can be implemented separately, embodiments of the invention may be integrated into the system(s) with which they are associated. All the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can be made and used without undue experimentation in light of the disclosure. Although the best mode of the invention contemplated by the inventor(s) is disclosed, embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. Embodiments of the invention are not limited by theoretical statements (if any) recited herein. The individual steps of embodiments of the invention need not be performed in the disclosed manner, or combined in the disclosed sequences, but may be performed in any and all manner and/or combined in any and all sequences. The individual components of embodiments of the invention need not be combined in the disclosed configurations, but could be combined in any and all configurations.

Various substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements of the features of embodiments of the invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept. All the disclosed elements and features of each disclosed embodiment can be combined with, or substituted for, the disclosed elements and features of every other disclosed embodiment except where such elements or features are mutually exclusive. The spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents cover all such substitutions, modifications, additions and/or rearrangements.

The appended claims are not to be interpreted as including means-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase(s) “means for” and/or “step for.” Subgeneric embodiments of the invention are delineated by the appended independent claims and their equivalents. Specific embodiments of the invention are differentiated by the appended dependent claims and their equivalents.

REFERENCE(S)

[1] “Multielectrode DFB Laser for Pure Frequency Modulation and Chirping Suppressed Amplitude Modulation” Yoshikuni et al, J. Lightwave Technology, Vol. 5, p. 516 (1987)

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

driving a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section.

2. A computer program, comprising computer or machine readable program elements translatable for implementing the method of claim 1.

3. An apparatus, comprising: a multi-section laser, wherein each section is electrically isolated from an adjacent section with sufficient resistance so that current through each section is contained substantially in that section.

4. A hybrid fiber coax communications network, comprising the apparatus of claim 3.