News: Optoelectronics
29 August 2024
Coherent unveils CW DFB InP lasers for silicon photonics transceivers
Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA has launched new family of high-efficiency continuous wave (CW) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers specifically engineered for silicon photonics transceiver modules.
Designed to operate in the O-band (1310nm region), the CW indium phosphide (InP) lasers are said to redefine the capabilities of silicon photonics modulators used in 800G and 1.6T optical transceivers. The transceivers are on the forward edge of data transmission technology, addressing the bandwidth demands caused by the rapid adoption of machine learning networks within AI-driven data centers.
Featuring a proprietary low-series-resistance design, the CW lasers are reckoned to achieve about 15% greater power efficiency compared with the existing industry standard. This addresses the critical demand for reduced power consumption in silicon photonics transceivers, providing an advantage in operational efficiency.
Picture: Coherent’s 70mW CW InP laser diode chip.
“By lowering power consumption, we’re addressing one of the most pressing challenges faced by our customers today. And with our upcoming expansion to a state-of-the-art 6-inch InP fab in Sherman, Texas, by 2026, we expect production capacity to be 5x our current production rate, a significant ramp given the complexity of this material,” says Dr Kou-Wei Wang, VP of InP directly modulated lasers & photodiodes. “We are committed to leading the market with technology and supply chain capacity as our customers increase demand in the InP laser sector.”
The first offering in the new laser family is a 70mW 1310nm laser, designed for uncooled, non-hermetic operation up to 85°C junction temperature. Commercial shipments begin in September. Coherent will release a higher-power laser for cooled operations, along with lasers tailored for the CWDM grid, in 2025.
The firm says that the lasers are not only efficient but also robust, offering what is claimed to be exceptional reliability due to the elimination of aluminium in the active quantum well region.
