Abstract:
A monolithically-integrated semiconductor optical transmitter that can index tune to any transmission wavelength in a given range, wherein the range is larger than that achievable by the maximum refractive index tuning allowed by the semiconductor material itself (i.e. Δλ/λ&gt;Δn/n). In practice, this tuning range is &gt;15 nm. The transmitter includes a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator monolithically integrated with a widely tunable laser and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). By using an interferometric modulation, the transmitter can dynamically control the chirp in the resulting modulated signal over the wide tuning range of the laser.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of co-pending and commonly-assigned U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/491,587, filed Jul. 31, 2003, by Gregory A. Fish and Yuliya Akulova, and entitled “TUNABLE LASER SOURCE WITH MONOLITHICALLY INTEGRATED INTERFEROMETRIC OPTICAL MODULATOR,” which application is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates generally to laser assemblies, and more particularly to a widely tunable laser assembly with an integrated optical modulator.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     (Note: This application references a number of different patents and/or publications as indicated throughout the specification by reference numbers enclosed in brackets, e.g., [x]. A list of these different patents and/or publications ordered according to these reference numbers can be found below in the section entitled “References.” Each of these patents and/or publications is incorporated by reference herein.)  
         [0006]     A compact, high-performance widely-tunable integrated laser/modulator chip would be a key component of a tunable transmitter that can dramatically lower the barriers to deployment and operation of high capacity, dense-wavelength division-multiplexing (DWDM) networks. Traditional non-tunable implementations of DWDM transmitters have discouraged the integration of laser source and modulator because of the high cost of these individual components combined with the fact that separate part numbers for each wavelength and its spare would have to be inventoried. Several implementations of such co-packaged transmitters exist for 10 Gb/s transmission in which the laser and modulator are fabricated on separate chips and coupled together by micro-optics. Given systems employing as many as 100 or more wavelengths, this model has contributed to the mountains of inventory associated with the current telecom build-out. However, a widely-tunable laser with full band coverage would resolve this problem by using a single part for all channels with minimal spares, and would give an economic impetus for the further integration of source and modulator into one hermetic package.  
         [0007]     The present invention describes an approach wherein a laser and modulator are fabricated by monolithic integration on a single indium phosphide (InP) chip. The laser is a widely-tunable Sampled Grating Distributed Bragg Reflector (SG-DBR) laser that is made possible by an InP-based technology platform that can integrate active waveguide, passive waveguide, and grating reflector sections, all of which can be tuned by current injection.  
         [0008]     The modulator is a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator, which is the structure of choice for long-reach transmission systems of 10 Gb/s or more because of its favorable chirp and extinction characteristics. The MZ modulator includes two curved waveguides whose relative optical phase length can be adjusted at high speed with a modulation voltage through the electro-optic effect, and two multimode interference (MMI) couplers that successively split the incoming light into two paths and then constructively or destructively combine the light on the output depending on the modulated phase difference. As a discrete component, the MZ modulator is typically fabricated on lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) or gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates with device lengths of several centimeters, thus requiring the use of a traveling-wave electrode geometry to overcome capacitance limitations.  
         [0009]     A monolithically integrated laser and modulator presents a number of opportunities. Lower voltage and smaller modulator size through the use of the quadratic electro-optic effect in InP allow for a compact chip (4×0.5 mm 2 ) and package (30×10 mm 2 ), as well as lower power dissipation in the modulator. Low coupling loss between laser and modulator calls for reduced laser launch power and hence lower power dissipation in the laser.  
         [0010]     Additional benefits of the InP integration platform include modulator chirp control through tuning current injection, additional amplification stages for higher power output, as well as integrated tap photodiodes for modulator bias control. Furthermore, the developed technology can be used to supply enabling building blocks to provide additional functionality including alternative data encoding formats and modulation techniques which will become necessary for next generation systems due to the combination of high bit rates and small channel spacing.  
         [0011]     Several embodiments of InP MZ modulators with and without integrated lasers have been disclosed in the literature [1,2,3]. For example, the prior art has disclosed a tunable laser with an integrated MZ modulator [1,2]; however, the tuning range was limited by the laser design to the amount of index shift achievable in InP materials and in practice to &lt;2.5 nm. Additional prior art has been disclosed on the integration of widely tunable lasers with electro-absorptive modulators [4,14]; however, this structure has limited dispersion tolerance due to positive chirp inherent in the bulk Franz-Keldysh modulator used for operation over the wide wavelength tuning range of the laser. Other art has integrated multiple smaller tuning range lasers with a single modulator to cover a wider wavelength range [21]; however, this approach suffers an inherent loss due to the need to couple the multiple lasers into single input, and the additional issues relating to temperature change in the modulator when tuning the individual lasers to the desired frequency.  
         [0012]     The present invention improves upon the prior art by integrating a single laser where the tuning range is larger than what is achievable through index change (in practice &gt;40 nm) with an interferometric modulator whose chirp can be optimized and controlled over such a wide wavelength range.  
         [0013]     Conventional InP MZ modulators suffer from additional attenuation when voltage is applied for the necessary phase shift. This problem degrades the extinction ratio and prevents negative chirp in conventional InP modulators. The prior art has disclosed inserting a π (i.e. 180°) phase shift between the arms and changing the splitting ratio of the input and output splitters in the MZ modulator to allow for simultaneous high extinction and negative chirp [5,6,7,17]. Additional prior art has disclosed the use of additional voltage electrodes to change the value of this phase shift after fabrication [8,17]. These approaches in the prior art have deficiencies in that the range of differential phase shift between the arms (without any bias applied) must be tightly controlled in the device and deviations in fabrication, over temperature and over life need to be compensated with voltage, inducing additional undesirable loss and extinction ratio changes.  
         [0014]     The present invention improves upon the prior art by using electrodes that inject current to adjust the phase shift between the arms to any value that is desired. The present invention allows 10× less loss for a given phase shift allowing for a larger range of phase shifts to be achieved without degrading the extinction ratio due to loss imbalance. This improvement creates a MZ modulator that has characteristics much more similar to LiNbO 3  or GaAs modulators in that the devices can be operated with any built-in differential phase shift between the arms, and not necessarily 180 degrees as stated in the prior art [5,17].  
         [0015]     One of the serious issues in the prior art with integrating a laser monolithically with a MZ modulator is that the modulator designs shown in the prior art reflect light differently between the on and off state of the modulator [9,10]. This reflection slightly perturbs the lasing wavelength of the on-chip laser imparting additional chirp on the modulated light signal and degrading fiber optic transmission.  
         [0016]     The present invention overcomes this limitation by using a 2×2 multimode interference (MMI) coupler acting as a combiner in the output of the MZ modulator. This improvement causes the on and off state of the modulator to have the same reflectivity which does not impart any frequency chirp due to the laser.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     It is the object of this invention to provide a monolithically-integrated, widely-tunable, semiconductor optical transmitter that can index tune to any transmission wavelength in a given range, wherein the range is larger than that achievable by the maximum refractive index tuning allowed by the semiconductor material itself (i.e. Δλ/λ&gt;Δn/n). In practice, this tuning range is &gt;15 nm. Furthermore, the transmitter contains a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator monolithically integrated with the widely tunable laser and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). By using an interferometric modulation, the transmitter can dynamically control the chirp in the resulting modulated signal over the wide tuning range of the laser. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]     Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a top view that schematically illustrates a monolithically integrated device comprising a diode laser assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view that schematically illustrates a monolithically integrated device comprising a diode laser assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a is a top view that schematically illustrates output couplers that are curved to prevent intersecting a facet of the device perpendicularly;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a is a top view that schematically illustrates output couplers that reflect light from the modulator into a power tap;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a top view that schematically illustrates modulators acting as a variable optical attenuator (VOA), wherein a splitting ratio can be modified by injecting current into control electrodes; and  
         [0024]      FIGS. 6 and 7  are top views that schematically illustrate modulators acting as a splitter/combiner, wherein a splitting ratio can be modified by injecting current into control electrodes. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     In the following description of the preferred embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are views that schematically illustrate a monolithically-integrated, semiconductor optical transmitter device  100  according to one embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of the device  100 , and  FIG. 1  is a top view of the device  100 .  
         [0027]     The device  100  is comprised of a common substrate  102  (which may comprise InP); at least one epitaxial structure  104  (which may comprise varying layers of InP, InGaAsP, InGaAs, InGaAsP, etc.) formed on the common substrate  102 ; a widely-tunable sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector (SGDBR) laser resonator  106 , formed on the common substrate in the epitaxial structure  104 , for producing a light beam; and a semiconductor Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator  108 , formed on the common substrate  102  in the same or different epitaxial structure  104  as the laser  106 , for modulating the light beam, wherein the MZ modulator  108  is positioned external to the laser  106 , but along a common waveguide  110  with the laser. Preferably, a wavelength tuning range of the laser  106  is wider than what is achievable through an index change and a chirp of the modulated light beam is dynamically controlled by the MZ modulator  108  over the wider wavelength tuning range of the laser  106 .  
         [0028]     The laser  106  preferably is comprised of a front mirror or reflector  112 , a back mirror or reflector  114 , a gain section  116  positioned between the front and back mirrors  112 ,  114  or incorporated within the mirrors  112 ,  114 , and a phase section  118 , all of which are situated along the common waveguide  110 . By applying an appropriate combination of currents to  112 ,  114 ,  116  and  118 , a light beam is produced by the laser  106 , wherein any frequency of the light beam within the designed tuning range can be emitted from the laser  106 . In this embodiment, the wavelength of the light beam is tunable over a wider wavelength range than is achievable by index tuning of any one section  112 ,  114 ,  116  and  118 , and the wider wavelength range is represented by Δλ/λ&gt;Δn/n, wherein λ represents the wavelength of the light beam, Δλ represents the change (or delta) in the wavelength of the light beam, n represents the index tuning of the laser  106 , and Δn represents the change (or delta) in the index tuning of the laser  106 .  
         [0029]     To simplify operation and decouple power control from the wavelength tuning, a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)  120  is situated after the laser  106  and before the MZ modulator  108 , wherein the SOA  120  amplifies the light beam produced by the laser  106 . The SOA  120  is formed on the common substrate  102  in the same or different epitaxial structure  104  as the laser  106  and/or MZ modulator  108 .  
         [0030]     The device  100  also includes a back facet monitor  122  positioned adjacent the back mirror  114  and a front tap  124  positioned between the SOA  120  and MZ modulator  108 .  
         [0031]     Other embodiments of widely tunable lasers are known to those skilled in the art [19,20] and, in general, they can be classified as having more than one independently controlled section wherein the output wavelength of the laser is tunable over a wider wavelength range than is achievable by index tuning in any one section, and the wider wavelength range is represented by Δλ/λ&gt;Δn/n.  
         [0032]     Preferably, the MZ modulator  108  (also known as an MZ interferometer or MZI) is comprised of a first 1×2 (or N×2) multimode interference (MMI) coupler  126  that splits (equally or unequally) the light generated from the laser  106  and amplified by the SOA  120  into first and second components of equal or unequal magnitude that are directed by first and second interferometric arms  128  of an optical waveguide, respectively, to two inputs of a second 2×2 (or 2×N) MMI coupler  130  that combines (equally or unequally) the first and second components interferometrically, thereby directing the combined components to one of the output waveguides of the coupler  130 , wherein the optical path length difference of the arms  128  determines into which output of the second MMI coupler  130  to direct the combined components.  
         [0033]     Both arms  128  comprise curved waveguides, and each of the arms  128  contain a first electrode  132  for applying an electric field to modulate the light beam, and at least one of the arms  128  contains a second electrode  134  for applying a current to adjust a phase of the light beam. Specifically, the electrodes  132  accept a modulation voltage to adjust a relative optical phase length of the arm  128  at high speed through an electro-optic effect, while the electrodes  132  permit a free selection of a differential phase shift between the interferometric arms  128  with minimal attenuation. The first MMI coupler  126  successively splits the light beam into separate paths for the arms  128  and the second MMI coupler  130  then constructively or destructively combines the light beams from the arms, depending on their modulated phase difference, into an output.  
         [0034]     The MMI couplers  126  and  130  are designed to prevent reflection of light beam back into the laser  106  cavity by ensuring that the input/output faces of the MMI couplers  126  and  130  form an obtuse angle with the sides of the input/output waveguides  110 . Further, the second MMI coupler  130  has two outputs such that a residual reflectivity is the same when the light beam is directed toward either of the outputs, which ensures that the laser  106  is not perturbed differently as the MZ modulator  108  switches the light between the paths under modulation.  
         [0035]     Following the 2×2 MMI coupler  130 , two output couplers  136  are formed on the common substrate  102  in the same or different epitaxial structure  104 , wherein at least one of the output couplers  136  is positioned and configured to receive the light beam output from the MZ modulator  108 , and couple the light beam output from the MZ modulator  108  to a following optical assembly (not shown).  
         [0036]     These output couplers  136  reduce back reflections to the MZ modulator  108 . In addition, the output couplers  136  may be used to transform a shape of an optical mode of the light beam at the output of the MZ modulator  108  to a substantially circular pattern to produce a symmetric farfield pattern, as opposed to a conventional elliptical pattern typical of semiconductor waveguides. In general, the farfield should be modified to match the requirements of the optical assembly used to couple the light beam into an optical fiber and is not necessarily limited to circular patterns.  
         [0037]      FIG. 3  is a top view that schematically illustrates the output couplers  136  according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the MZ modulator  108  is in an “on” state, the light beam exits through the lower or first of the output couplers  136 , and when the MZ modulator  108  is in an “off” state, the light beam exits through the upper or second of the output couplers  136 .  
         [0038]     Both of the output couplers  136  are curved to prevent the light beam exiting from a facet of the device  100  in a direction that is perpendicular to the facet. In addition, the paths of the output couplers  136  preferably are at an angle relative to each other. Consequently, the respective light beams generated during the “on” state and “off” state of the MZ modulator  102  propagate at an angle φ relative to each other that is greater than 20 degrees from each other after exiting the device  100 .  
         [0039]     The device  100  also includes an electrode  138  that monitors an optical power of the light beam output from the MZ modulator  108 , through the collection of photocurrent, wherein the electrode is positioned to receive the light beam from the second output coupler  136 . The electrode  138  can be positioned to receive the light beam before it reaches the facet, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , or it can be positioned to receive the light beam reflecting from the facet, as depicted in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , the angle between the direction of propagation along the second output coupler  136  and the facet of the device may be made greater than a critical angle to induce a total internal reflection of the light beam.  
         [0040]     The prior art has disclosed an arrangement absorb the light from the output of the modulator [18]; however, the present invention is intended to convert all of the modulated light to photocurrent and is not suitable for applications where the light output of a MZ modulator will be coupled to an optical assembly separate from the integrated device. Furthermore, the prior art uses a 2×1 combiner, necessitating a complex scheme for coupling the light to the tap detector. The use of a 2×2 MMI coupler  130  in the present invention allows for the substantially simpler embodiments.  
         [0041]     The high efficient nature of current induced phase tuning can be used to create additional enhancements to the monolithically integrated tunable transmitter. The prior art has discussed that the chirp of semiconductor modulators can be adjusted by changing the splitting ratio of the splitters used in an MZ modulator [11] or by modifying the RF drive applied to a dual drive MZI [12,13]. The prior art has also disclosed the use of control electrodes to modify the chirp of the modulated waveform by applying DC voltage to the control electrodes contained in the arms [8], but this approach has a limited ability to change the chirp and can adversely effect the modulator extinction ratio due to imparting a loss imbalance in the arms. Additional prior art has disclosed the addition of an electrode to modify the splitting ratio to increase the extinction ratio of the modulator [16], but has not discussed modifying the splitting ratio of the combiner or discussed the possibility of tuning the chirp.  
         [0042]      FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention wherein one or more additional short MZ modulators  140 , which act as variable splitters or combiners, are positioned before and/or after the MZ modulator  108 . The additional short MZ modulators  140 , which are formed on the common substrate  102  in the epitaxial structure  104 , modify chirp properties of the MZ modulator  108 . The splitting and/or combining ratio of the additional short MZ modulators  140  can be modified by injecting current into their electrodes  134  to dynamically control the chirp properties of the MZ modulator  108  without adjusting the modulation voltage applied to the electrodes  132  in either arm  128 .  
         [0043]     The use of electrodes  134  as current-induced phase shifters in the splitting/combining MZ modulators  140  makes this practical, as they do not significantly lengthen the device  100  (&lt;500 um) or add substantial insertion loss (&lt;2 dB). Further, the insertion loss would remain relatively constant for a range of splitting ratios around the nominal unbiased value due to the low increase in loss incurred by using current induced index change. Voltage-based electrodes  132  performing this function would be impractical due to the high additional loss (&gt;6 dB), large size (&gt;1 mm) and large variation in insertion loss as the splitting ratio changes.  
         [0044]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the device  100  power is adjusted over a large dynamic range. This is desirable feature can be obtained by adding one or more additional short MZ modulators  142 , which are formed on the common substrate  102  in the epitaxial structure  104 , to the monolithically integrated device  100 . In this embodiment, each of the additional short MZ modulators  142  functions as a variable optical attenuator (VOA).  FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment wherein the additional short MZ modulator  142  is positioned before the MZ modulator  108 , while  FIG. 7  illustrates an embodiment wherein the additional short MZ modulator  142  is positioned after the MZ modulator  108 .  
         [0045]     The prior art has disclosed the addition of an absorptive VOA prior to a modulator [15]; however, there are several deficiencies with the prior art approach. First, the power dissipation of this approach scales dramatically with the input power to be attenuated and the degree of attenuation (5-10 times the input optical power) necessitating designs that are multi-section to avoid catastrophic damage due to heating. These multi-section designs add substantial length to the modulator (over a factor of 2 as compared to a modulator alone).  
         [0046]      FIGS. 6 and 7 , on the other hand, illustrate configurations where the VOA is created using a short interferometric optical attenuator, i.e., the additional short MZ modulator  142 , controlled by current injection via electrodes  134 . The advantage of this embodiment is that it adds only &lt;500 um to the length (less than 30% increase) and the power dissipation is limited to &lt;20 mW regardless of the optical input power.  
       REFERENCES  
       [0047]     The following references are incorporated by reference herein: 
    [1] Zucker, J. E.; Monolithically integrated laser/Mach-Zehnder modulators using quantum wells, Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting, 1993. LEOS &#39;93 Conference Proceedings. IEEE, 15-18 Nov. 1993, Page(s): 641-642.     [2] Zucker, J. E.; Jones, K. L.; Newkirk, M. A.; Gnall, R. P.; Miller, B. I.; Young, M. G.; Koren, U.; Burrus, C. A.; Tell, B.; Quantum well interferometric modulator monolithically integrated with 1.55 μm tunable distributed Bragg reflector laser, Electronics Letters, Volume: 28 Issue: 20, 24 Sep. 1992, Page(s): 1888-1889.     [3] Rolland, C.; InGaAsP-based Mach-Zehnder modulators for high-speed transmission systems, Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibit, 1998. OFC &#39;98., Technical Digest, 22-27 Feb. 1998, Page(s): 283-284.     [4] Akulova, Y. A.; Fish, G. A.; Ping-Chiek Koh; Schow, C. L.; Kozodoy, P.; Dahl, A. P.; Nakagawa, S.; Larson, M. C.; Mack, M. P.; Strand, T. A.; Coldren, C. W.; Hegblom, E.; Penniman, S. K.; Wipiejewski, T.; Coldren, L. A.; Widely tunable electroabsorption-modulated sampled-grating DBR laser transmitter, Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal on, Volume: 8 Issue: 6, November-December 2002, Page(s): 1349-1357.     [5] U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,504, issued Dec. 2, 1997, to Yu et al., entitled Semiconductor modulator with a π shift.     [6] Yu, J.; Rolland, C.; Yevick, D.; Somani, A.; Bradshaw, S.; Phase-engineered III-V MQW Mach-Zehnder modulators, Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, Volume: 8 Issue: 8, August 1996, Page(s): 1018-1020.     [7] Penninckx, D.; Delansay, Ph.; Comparison of the propagation performance over standard dispersive fiber between InP-based π-phase-shifted and symmetrical Mach-Zehnder modulators, Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, Volume: 9 Issue: 9, September 1997, Page(s): 1250-1252.     [8] U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,113, issued Jul. 7, 1998, to Yu, and entitled Configurable chirp Mach-Zehnder optical modulator.     [9] Lovisa, S.; Bouche, N.; Helmers, H.; Heymes, Y.; Brillouet, F.; Gottesman, Y.; Rao, K.; Integrated laser Mach-Zehnder modulator on indium phosphide free of modulated-feedback, Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, Volume: 13 Issue: 12, December 2001, Page(s): 1295-1297.     [10] Xun Li; Huang, W.-P.; Adams, D. M.; Rolland, C.; Makino, T.; Modeling and design of a DFB laser integrated with a Mach-Zehnder modulator, Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of, Volume: 34 Issue: 10, October 1998, Page(s): 1807-1815.     [11] Lawetz, C.; Cartledge, J. C.; Rolland, C.; Yu, J.; Modulation characteristics of semiconductor Mach-Zehnder optical modulators, Lightwave Technology, Journal of, Volume: 15 Issue: 4, April 1997, Page(s): 697-703.     [12] Hoon Kim; Gnauck, A. H.; Chirp characteristics of dual-drive. Mach-Zehnder modulator with a finite DC extinction ratio, Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, Volume: 14 Issue: 3, March 2002, Page(s): 298-300.     [13] U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,079, issued Apr. 12, 1994, to Gnauck et al., and entitled Tunable chirp, lightwave modulator for dispersion compensation.     [14] U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,259, issued Jun. 3, 2003, to Fish et al., and entitled Method of making an opto-electronic laser with integrated modulator.     [15] Anderson, K.; Betty, I.; Indium Phosphide MZ chips are suited to long-reach metro, Laser Focus World, Volume: 39 Issue: 3, March 2003, Page(s): 101-104.     [16] U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,005, issue Dec. 25, 2001, to Burie et al., and entitled Modulator of the Mach-Zehnder type having a very high extinction ratio.     [17] U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,807, issued Jul. 29, 1997, to Fukuchi, and entitled Semiconductor optical modulator.     [18] U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,604, issued Jul. 1, 2003, to Yamauchi, and entitled Optical semiconductor device.     [19] Muller, M.; Gollub, D.; Fischer, M.; Kamp, M.; Forchel, A.; 1.3-/spl mu/m continuously tunable distributed feedback laser with constant power output based on GaInNAs—GaAs, Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, Volume: 15 Issue: 7, July 2003, Page(s): 897-899.     [20] Reid, D. C. J.; Robbins, D. J.; Ward, A. J.; Whitbread, N. D.; Williams, P. J.; Busico, G.; Carter, A. C.; Wood, A. K.; Carr, N.; Asplin, J. C.; Kearley, M. Q.; Hunt, W. J.; Brambley, D. R.; Rawsthome, J. R.; A novel broadband DBR laser for DWDM networks with simplified quasi-digital wavelength selection, Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibit, 2002. OFC 2002, 17-22 Mar. 2002, Page(s): 541-543.     [21] U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,017, issued Feb. 4, 2003, to Matsumoto, and entitled Multiwavelength semiconductor laser device with single modulator and drive method therefor.     [22] U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,325, issued Jan. 23, 1990, to Coldren, and entitled Multi-section tunable laser with differing multi-element mirrors.    
 
         [0070]     Conclusion  
         [0071]     This concludes the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The foregoing description of one or more embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.