Monolithic integration of InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback laser and electroabsorption modulator by vapor phase epitaxy

Monolithic integration of a 1.55-μm InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback (DFB) laser and an electroabsorption (EA) modulator was studied. The difference between the lasing photon energy and the bandgap energy of the modulator waveguide was designed to be 30-40 meV, taking into account the linewidth-enhancement factor and the zero-bias absorption loss. The integrated devices were grown by three-step vapor phase epitaxy (VPE). The CW threshold current at 20°C of the DFB laser part with a buried heterostructure was 30-60 mA and the breakdown voltage of the modulator part with a strip-loaded stripe geometry was 20-40 V, and these values indicated satisfactory crystal quality in the VPE epitaxial layers. The operating voltage of the modulator to give on:off ratios of 10:1 and 100:1 was 1.5- 4 V and 2.5-6.5 V, respectively, depending on the length in the range m. A 3-dB bandwidth of about 2.5 GHz and a linewidth-enhancement factor of about 1.6 were obtained for the integrated modulator.