Integration of Functional SOA on the Gain Chip of an External Cavity Wavelength Tunable Laser Using Etched Mirror Technology

A gap-mirror technology for integrating a functional section onto a laser gain chip is presented. A semiconductor optical amplifier, implementing several functions, is integrated on the gain chip used in an external cavity laser, and demonstrated as a high-performance variable attenuator and data modulator at 2.5 Gb/s. Control of the mirror properties through the gap geometry is demonstrated, and further optimization is realized by a gap-filling technique, which increases the output power to above 100 mW across the C -band.