Discovery's 40-GHz photodiodes used to characterize 1.3 µm, directly modulated DFB lasers

April 28, 2006 Ewing, NJ -- Optical receiver manufacturer Discovery Semiconductors has provided 40-GHz InGaAs photodiodes to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan for the schools' collaborative research in ultra-fast, directly modulated 1.3-µm DFB lasers.

According to a press release, UCLA's Photonic Research Laboratory (PRL), led by Professor Jia-Ming Liu, has successfully demonstrated that a 3-fold bandwidth enhancement in semiconductor lasers can be achieved through nonlinear dynamics. A world record of 35-GHz modulation bandwidth has been realized in 1.3 µm DFB lasers.

"This suggests the possibility of using currently available semiconductor lasers for OC-768 optical communications," explains Dr. Sheng-Kwang Hwang, a former Ph.D. student at UCLA in charge of the study at PRL and currently an assistant professor at the National Chung Cheng University. "With Discovery's high speed photodiodes, we were able to characterize and analyze these high speed signals. They will continue to play a key role in our future study at PRL and also in Taiwan."

"The application at PRL is a very unique one, where our 40-GHz photodiodes are used at 1.3 µm, proving that Discovery's photodiodes and photoreceivers can be used at multiple wavelengths," adds Mr. Jay Magbitang, sales engineer at Discovery Semiconductors. "One device for multiple wavelengths reduces operational and inventory costs for our customers, thus making them versatile for multiple applications."