Embodiments of the present disclosure include optical transmitters and transceivers with improved reliability. In some embodiments, the optical transmitters are used in network devices, such as in conjunction with a network switch. In one embodiment, lasers are operated at low power to improve reliability and power consumption. The output of the laser may be modulated by a non-direct modulator and received by integrated optical components, such as a modulator and/or multiplexer. The output of the optical components may be amplified by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Various advantageous configurations of lasers, optical components, and SOAs are disclosed. In some embodiments, SOAs are configured as part of a pluggable optical communication module, for example.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include optical transmitters and transceivers with improved reliability. In some embodiments, the optical transmitters are used in network devices, such as in conjunction with a network switch. In one embodiment, lasers are operated at low power to improve reliability and power consumption. The output of the laser may be modulated by a non-direct modulator and received by integrated optical components, such as a modulator and/or multiplexer. The output of the optical components may be amplified by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Various advantageous configurations of lasers, optical components, and SOAs are disclosed. In some embodiments, SOAs are configured as part of a pluggable optical communication module, for example.

An embodiment semiconductor optical device includes an optical waveguide including a core, and an active layer extending in the waveguide direction of the optical waveguide for a predetermined distance and arranged in a state in which the active layer can be optically coupled to the core. The core and the active layer are arranged in contact with each other. The core is formed of a material with a refractive index of about 1.5 to 2.2, such as SiN, for example. In addition, the core is formed to a thickness at which a higher-order mode appears. The higher-order mode is an E.sub.12 mode, for example.

An optical apparatus comprises a semiconductor substrate, and a supermode filtering waveguide (SFW) emitter disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The SFW emitter comprises a first optical waveguide, a spacer layer, and a second optical waveguide spaced apart from the first optical waveguide by the spacer layer. The second optical waveguide is evanescently coupled with the first optical waveguide and is configured, in conjunction with the first waveguide, to selectively propagate only a first mode of a plurality of optical modes. The SFW emitter further comprises an optically active region disposed in one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide.

An inspection method for inspecting a semiconductor laser device integrated with a semiconductor laser, an electroabsorption modulator for input the output of the semiconductor laser, and a photodetector for detecting intensity of part of the laser light output from the semiconductor laser includes a step of acquiring a transverse-mode light output characteristic that is a relationship between an injection current to the semiconductor laser and the output of the photodetector; a step of applying a reverse bias voltage to the electroabsorption modulator and acquiring a total light output characteristic that is a relationship between the injection current to the semiconductor laser and a photocurrent output from the electroabsorption modulator; and a step of comparing the total light output characteristic with the transverse-mode light output characteristic, thereby to determine whether or not the semiconductor laser device under inspection is abnormal in the transverse mode.

A method and apparatus provide for determining a temperature at a junction of a laser diode when the laser diode is operated in a lasing state that facilitates heat-assisted magnetic recording, comparing the junction temperature and an injection current supplied during the lasing state to stored combinations of junction temperature and injection current, and determining a likelihood of mode hopping occurring for the laser diode during the lasing state based on the comparison to stored combinations of junction temperature and injection current.

An optical apparatus comprises a semiconductor substrate, and a supermode filtering waveguide (SFW) emitter disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The SFW emitter comprises a first optical waveguide, a spacer layer, and a second optical waveguide spaced apart from the first optical waveguide by the spacer layer. The second optical waveguide is evanescently coupled with the first optical waveguide and is configured, in conjunction with the first waveguide, to selectively propagate only a first mode of a plurality of optical modes. The SFW emitter further comprises an optically active region disposed in one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide.

A collinear T-cavity VECSEL system generating intracavity Hermite-Gaussian modes at multiple wavelengths, configured to vary each of these wavelengths individually and independently. A mode converter element and/or an astigmatic mode converter is/are aligned intracavity to reversibly convert the Gaussian modes to HG modes to Laguerre-Gaussian modes, the latter forming the system output having any of the wavelengths provided by the spectrum resulting from nonlinear frequency-mixing intracavity (including generation of UV, visible, mid-IR light). The laser system delivers Watt-level output power in tunable high-order transverse mode distribution.

A system and method for providing laser diodes with broad spectrum is described. GaN-based laser diodes with broad or multi-peaked spectral output operating are obtained in various configurations by having a single laser diode device generating multiple-peak spectral outputs, operate in superluminescene mode, or by use of an RF source and/or a feedback signal. In some other embodiments, multi-peak outputs are achieved by having multiple laser devices output different lasers at different wavelengths.

A vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) based system in a linear single cavity configuration is configured to deliver light in higher-order Hermite-Gaussian transverse modes with Watt-level output power. Simultaneous and independent lasing of spatially-restructurable multiple high-order transverse modes that are collinearly-propagating at the output of such laser cavity is facilitated with the use of an optical pumping scheme devised to control positions of location at which the gain medium of the system is pumped (e.g., locations of focal spots of multiple pump beams on the gain-medium chip). An external astigmatic mode converter is utilized to convert such high-order Hermite-Gaussian modes into corresponding Laguerre-Gaussian modes.