Chapter 4) Optical Sources

4.1 LED( Light Emitting Diode)

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits incoherent light, through
spontaneous emission, when a current is passed through it. Typically LEDs for the 850-nm
region are fabricated using GaAs and AlGaAs. LEDs for the 1300-nm and 1550-nm regions are
fabricated using InGaAsP and InP.

The basic LED types used for fiber optic communication systems are the surface-emitting LED
(SLED), the edge-emitting LED (ELED), and the superluminescent diode (SLD). LED
performance differences help link designers decide which device is appropriate for the intended
application. For short-distance (0 to 3 km), low-data-rate fiber optic systems, SLEDs and ELEDs
are the preferred optical source. Typically, SLEDs operate efficiently for bit rates up to 250
megabits per second (Mb/s). Because SLEDs emit light over a wide area (wide far-field angle),
they are almost exclusively used in multimode systems.

For medium-distance, medium-data-rate systems, ELEDs are preferred.

ELEDs may be modulated at rates up to 400 Mb/s. ELEDs may be used for both single mode and
multimode fiber systems. Both SLDs and ELEDs are used in long-distance, high-data-rate
systems. SLDs are ELED-based diodes designed to operate in the superluminescence mode. A
further discussion on superluminescence is provided later in this chapter. SLDs may be
modulated at bit rates of over 400 Mb/s.

Surface-Emitting LEDs

The surface-emitting LED (shown in figure 1) is also known as the Burrus LED in honor of C. A.
Burrus, its developer. In SLEDs, the size of the primary active region is limited to a small
circular area of 20 μm to 50 μm in diameter. The active region is the portion of the LED
where photons are emitted. The primary active region is below the surface of the semiconductor
substrate perpendicular to the axis of the fiber.
A well is etched into the substrate to allow direct coupling of the emitted light to the optical fiber.
The etched well allows the optical fiber to come into close contact with the emitting surface.

In addition, the epoxy resin that binds the optical fiber to the SLED reduces the refractive index
mismatch, increasing coupling efficiency.

Figure 1. - Example of the SLED structure.

Edge-Emitting LEDs

The demand for optical sources for longer distance, higher bandwidth systems operating at
longer wavelengths led to the development of edge-emitting LEDs. Figure 2 shows a typical
ELED structure. It shows the different layers of semiconductor material used in the ELED. The
primary active region of the ELED is a narrow stripe, which lies below the surface of the
semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is cut or polished so that the stripe runs
between the front and back of the device.
The polished or cut surfaces at each end of the stripe are called facets.

Figure 2. - Example of the ELED structure.

In an ELED the rear facet is highly reflective and the front facet is antireflection-coated. The rear
facet reflects the light propagating toward the rear end-face back toward the front facet. By
coating the front facet with antireflection material, the front facet reduces optical feedback and
allows light emission. ELEDs emit light only through the front facet. ELEDs emit light in a
narrow emission angle allowing for better source-to-fiber coupling. They couple more power into
small NA fibers than SLEDs. ELEDs can couple enough power into single mode fibers for some
applications. ELEDs emit power over a narrower spectral range than SLEDs. However, ELEDs
typically are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations than SLEDs.

4.2 Lasers
A laser is a device that produces optical radiation by the process of stimulated emission. It is
necessary to contain photons produced by stimulated emission within the laser active region.

Figure 3 shows an optical cavity formed to contain the emitted photons by placing one reflecting
mirror at each end of an amplifying medium. One mirror is made partially reflecting so that some
radiation can escape from the cavity for coupling to an optical fiber.

Figure 3. - Optical cavity for producing lasing.

Only a portion of the optical radiation is amplified. For a particular laser structure, there are only
certain wavelengths that will be amplified by that laser. Amplification occurs when selected
wavelengths, also called laser modes, reflect back and forth through the cavity. For lasing to
occur, the optical gain of the selected modes must exceed the optical loss during one round-trip
through the cavity. This process is referred to as optical feedback.

The lasing threshold is the lowest drive current level at which the output of the laser results
primarily from stimulated emission rather than spontaneous emission. Figure 4 illustrates the
transition from spontaneous emission to stimulated emission by plotting the relative optical
output power and input drive current of a semiconductor laser diode. The lowest current at which
stimulated emission exceeds spontaneous emission is the threshold current.

Before the threshold current is reached, the optical output power increases only slightly with
small increases in drive current. However, after the threshold current is reached, the optical
output power increases significantly with small changes in drive currents.
Figure 4. - The optical output power as a function of input drive current of a semiconductor laser
diode.

Many types of materials including gas, liquid, and semiconductors can form the lasing medium.
However, in this chapter we only discuss semiconductor laser diodes. Semiconductor laser
diodes are the primary lasers used in fiber optics. A laser diode emits light that is highly
monochromatic and very directional.

This means that the LD's output has a narrow spectral width and small output beam angle.

A semiconductor LD's geometry is similar to an ELED with light-guiding regions surrounding

the active region. Optical feedback is established by making the front facet partially reflective.
This chapter provides no diagram detailing LD structures because they are similar to ELEDs in
design. The rear facet is typically coated with a reflective layer so that all of the light striking the
facet is reflected back into the active region. The front facet is typically left uncoated so that
most of the light is emitted. By increasing the drive current, the diode becomes a laser.
At currents below the threshold current, LDs function as ELEDs.
There are three kinds of transitions that are important in laser diodes, which occur
between the conduction and valence bands of the material. They are stimulated absorption,
spontaneous emission and stimulated emission in Figure 5

Figure 5:LASER action

(also refer class notes)

4.3 Source Characteristics

Comparision between LED and LASER

Output Power: refers to the intensity of light emitted by source.

Spectral width: refers to the width of light beam emitted by the source or the area covered by the
emitted light.
Output pattern: refers to the output light being scattered or confined.
Speed: refers to the time required for production of light after a changing pulse is given as input
Lifetime: refers to the lifetime of sources
Ease of use
4.4 Types of LASERS
4.4.1 Fabry Perot LASERS:
A Laser oscillator in which two mirrors are separated by an amplifying medium with an inverted
population, making a Fabry-Perot cavity. Standard Diode lasers are Fabry-Perot lasers.

A Fabry-Perot Cavity is the standard cavity with two highly reflecting mirrors bouncing the
Light back and forth, forming a standing wave. This cavity is not very Frequency selective,
theoretically you could have 1 mm Wavelength light and .001 Micron wavelength light in the
same cavity, as long as the mirrors are the right distance apart to form a standing wave. Fabry-
Perot lasers are made with a Gain region and a pair of mirrors on the facets, but the only
wavelength selectivity is from the Wavelength Dependence of the gain and the requirement for
an integral number of wavelengths in a cavity round trip. A Fabry-Perot by definition consists of
two planar mirrors, but the term is nowadays very frequently also used for resonators with
curved mirrors. From a theoretical viewpoint, plane-plane Optical Resonators are special in the
sense that their Resonator Modes extend up to the edges of the mirrors and experience some
Diffraction losses. However, Fabry-Perots are usually used with input beams of much smaller
diameter, which are actually not really matched to the resonator modes. For the usually small
mirror spacings, where diffraction within a round trip is rather weak, this deviation does not
matter that much.
4.4.2 Distributed Feedback LASER

Distributed feedback lasers (DFB) are the most common transmitter type in DWDM-systems. To
stabilize the lasing wavelength, a diffraction grating is etched close to the p-n junction of the
diode. This grating acts like an optical filter, causing a single wavelength to be fed back to the
gain region and lase. Since the grating provides the feedback that is required for lasing, reflection
from the facets is not required. Thus, at least one facet of a DFB is anti-reflection coated. The
DFB laser has a stable wavelength that is set during manufacturing by the pitch of the grating,
and can only be tuned slightly with temperature. DFB lasers are widely used in optical
communication applications where a precise and stable wavelength is critical.

The threshold current of this DFB laser, based on its static characteristic, is around 11 mA. The
appropriate bias current in a linear regime could be taken in the middle of the static characteristic
(50 mA).

4.4.3 CD LASERS

Used to read data from CDs. Basically a wavelength of 850 nm is used for the purpose.
4.4.4 Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting LASER

Diagram of a simple VCSEL structure; not to scale

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have the optical cavity axis along the direction
of current flow rather than perpendicular to the current flow as in conventional laser diodes. The
active region length is very short compared with the lateral dimensions so that the radiation
emerges from the surface of the cavity rather than from its edge as shown in the figure. The
reflectors at the ends of the cavity are dielectric mirrors made from alternating high and low
refractive index quarter-wave thick multilayer.

Such dielectric mirrors provide a high degree of wavelength-selective reflectance at the required
free surface wavelength if the thicknesses of alternating layers d1 and d2 with refractive
indices n1 and n2 are such that n1d1 + n2d2 = /2 which then leads to the constructive interference
of all partially reflected waves at the interfaces. But there is a disadvantage: because of the high
mirror reflectivities, VCSELs have lower output powers when compared to edge-emitting lasers.

There are several advantages to producing VCSELs when compared with the production process
of edge-emitting lasers. Edge-emitters cannot be tested until the end of the production process. If
the edge-emitter does not work, whether due to bad contacts or poor material growth quality, the
production time and the processing materials have been wasted. Additionally, because VCSELs
emit the beam perpendicular to the active region of the laser as opposed to parallel as with an
edge emitter, tens of thousands of VCSELs can be processed simultaneously on a three inch
Gallium Arsenide wafer. Furthermore, even though the VCSEL production process is more labor
and material intensive, the yield can be controlled to a more predictable outcome. However, they
normally show a lower power output level.

4.4.5 Pump LASER

Laser pumping is the act of energy transfer from an external source into the gain medium of
a laser. The energy is absorbed in the medium, producing excited states in its atoms. When the
number of particles in one excited state exceeds the number of particles in the ground state or a
less-excited state, population inversion is achieved. In this condition, the mechanism
of stimulated emission can take place and the medium can act as a laser or an optical amplifier.
The pump power must be higher than the lasing threshold of the laser.

The pump energy is usually provided in the form of light or electric current, but more exotic
sources have been used, such as chemicalor nuclear reactions.