Wavelength tunable two-pad ridge waveguide distributedBragg reflectorInGaAs-GaAs quantum well lasers

Abstract
Carrier injection in the grating section is used to tune the emission wavelength of a single growth step, single frequency, ridge waveguide InGaAs/GaAs quantum well distributed Bragg reflector laser with two top contacts. Single longitudinal mode emission with over 30 dB of sidemode suppression is observed throughout a tuning range of 6 nm with 60 mA of injection current in the grating section. The tuning mechanism for these devices is dominated by current injection heating rather than carrier depression of the refractive index.