Influence of facet reflections on monolithic widely tunable laser diodes

Monolithic widely tunable laser diodes commonly employ sophisticated grating structures to achieve wide wavelength tuning by exploiting the Vernier effect. The reflection spectra of these gratings are, however, susceptible to any unintended reflections, which cause interference effects and impair the tuning behavior of the laser. The main source of such reflections are the front and rear facet of the device. Their influence on the tuning characteristic is significant and will be discussed in this letter. Furthermore, a statistical yield analysis is presented, which relates device yield to important design parameters.