Tunable photonic crystal coupled-cavity laser

We report the development of a tunable photonic crystal coupled-cavity laser diode based on InP. The laser consists of two photonic crystal channel waveguides that are coupled through a photonic crystal mirror segment in Γ-M direction. The cavity lengths define the respective mode spacings in the cavities. The tuning characteristics of the device are compared with results obtained from a transfer matrix model. Quasi-continuous tuning is achieved in a 29.6-nm window with 36 wavelength division multiplexing channels spaced 0.8 nm apart (ITU grid). The simplicity of fabrication and promising output characteristics should make this tunable laser design an interesting source for monolithic integration into highly integrated photonic circuits.