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Modulation of an LED
The response time or frequency response
of an optical source dictates how fast an
electrical drive signal can vary light output
level.

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Response Time Determining

Factors
1- The doping level in the active region
2- The injected carrier lifetime i in the
recombination region
3- Parasitic capacitance of the LED.

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If the drive current is modulated at the

frequency the optical output power
of the device will vary as

P ( ) P0 [1 ( i ) ]

2 1/ 2

-------4.18

Where P0 is the power emitted at

zero modulation frequency.

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Capacitive Effect and its compensation

The parasitic capacitance can
cause a delay of carrier injection
into the active junction and
consequently could delay the optical
output.
This delay is negligible if a small,
constant forward bias is applied to
the diode. Under this condition Eq
4.18 is valid and the modulation
response is limited only by carrier
recombination time

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Modulation Bandwidth
Modulation bandwidth of an LED can be
defined in either electrical or optical terms.
Normally electrical terms are used since
the bandwidth is actually determined via
the associated electrical circuitry. Thus the
modulation bandwidth is defined as the
point where the electrical signal power
designated by p() has dropped to
half its constant value resulting from
the modulated portion of the optical
signal .

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Electrical Half Power Bandwidth

This is the electrical 3- dB point that is the
frequency at which the output electrical
power is reduced by 3 dB with respect to
the input electrical power as is illustrated
in Fig shown in the next slide.

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Relationship of Optical and Electrical Power

p ( )
I 2 ( )
10 log[
] 10 log[ 2
4.19
p (0)
I (0)]
Where I() is the electrical current in
the detection circuitry. The electrical
3-dB point occurs at that frequency
point where the detected electrical
power p() =p(0)/2 .This happens
2
I
( )
1
when I 2

4.20
I 2 (0)

or

I ( ) / I (0) 1/ 2 0.707

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Sometimes the modulation bandwidth of

an LED is given in terms of the 3-dB
bandwidth of the modulated optical power
P() that is it is specified at the
frequency where P() =P0/2. In this
case the 3 dB bandwidth is
determined from the ratio of the
optical power at frequency to the
unmodulated value of the optical
power .

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10

Since the detected current is directly

proportional to the optical power, this ratio
is
P( )
I ( )
Ratiooptical 10 log[

P (0)

] 10 log[

I (0)

] 4.21

The optical 3-dB point occurs at the

frequency where the ratio of the currents
is equal to . As shown in the last picture
slide this gives an inflated value of the
modulation bandwidth which corresponds
to an electrical power attenuation of 6dB.

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11

LASER DIODS
Principle of LASER diode is depicted in
the next slide.

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LASER diode Modes and

Threshold conditions
For optical fiber communication systems
requiring bandwidth greater than
approximately 200 MHz the semiconductor
injection laser diode is preferred over LED.
Laser diodes typically have response times less
than 1 ns, can have spectral width of 2 nm or
less and are capable of coupling several lens or
mille-watts of useful luminescent power into
optical fibers with small cores and small mode
field diameter.

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Multilayered heterojunction devices

Virtually all laser diodes in use are
multilayered heterojunction devices. As
mentioned in the last section, the double
heterojunction LED configuration evolved
from the successful demonstration of both
carrier and optical confinement in
heterojunction injection laser diodes.

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Construction similarities
The more rapid evolvement and utilization
of LEDs as compared with Laser diodes
lies in the inherently simpler construction,
the smaller temperature dependencies of
the emitted optical power and the absence
of catastrophic degradation in LEDs. The
construction of laser diodes is more
complicated, mainly because of the
additional requirement of current
configuration in a small lasing cavity.

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Fabry-Perot Resonator Cavity

Stimulated emission in semiconductor
lasers arises from optical transition
between distributions of energy states in
the valence and conduction bands. This
differs from gas and solid state lasers in
which radiative transitions occur between
discrete isolated atomic or molecular
levels. This radiation in one type of laser
diode configuration is generated within
Fabry Perot resonator cavity shown next.

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18

Gain Mechanism
As illustrated in next picture slide two flat
partially reflecting mirror facets are
constructed by making two parallel clefts
along natural cleavage planes of the
semiconductor crystal. This purpose of the
mirror is to establish a strong optical
feedback in longitudinal direction. This
feedback mechanism converts the device
into an oscillator with a gain mechanism,

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That compensate for optical losses in the

cavity at certain resonant optical
frequencies. The sides of the cavity are
simply formed by rouging the edges of the
device to reduce unwanted emissions in
the lateral directions.
As the light reflects back and forth within
the fabry perot cavity, the electric fields of
the light interfere on successive round
trips.

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Those wavelengths that are integer

multiple of the cavity length interfere
constructively so that their amplitudes add
when they exit the device through the right
hand facet. All other wavelengths interfere
destructively and thus cancel themselves
out. The optical frequencies at which
constructive interference occurs are the
resonant frequencies of the cavity.

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Consequently, spontaneous emitted

photon that have wavelengths at these
resonant frequencies reinforce themselves
after multiple trips though the cavity so
that their optical field becomes very
strong. The resonant wavelengths are
called longitudinal modes of the cavity,
since they resonate along the length of the
cavity,

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The figure shows in the next slide illustrate

the behavior of the resonant wavelengths
for three values of the mirror reflectivity.
The plots give the relative intensity as the
function of the wavelength relative to
cavity length. As can be seen from Fig
next slide the width of the resonance
depends on the value of the reflectivity.
That is the resonance become sharper as
as the reflectivity increase.

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In another laser diodes type, commonly

referred to as the distributed feedback
(DFB) laser, the cleaved facets are not
required for optical feedback. A typical
DFB laser configuration is shown in the
next slide.

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27

To determine the lasing condition and the

resonant frequencies, we express the
electromagnetic wave propagation in the
longitudinal direction in terms of the
electric field phasor.

E ( z , t ) I ( z )e

j ( t z )

4.22

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Lasing is the condition at which light

amplification becomes possible in the
laser diodes.
The radiation intensity at a photon energy
hv varies exponentially with the distance z
that it traverses along the lasing cavity
according to the relationship

I ( z ) I (0) exp{[g (hv) (hv)]z} 4.23

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29

is the effective absorption coefficient of

the material in the optical path and is
the optical field confinement factor. That is
the fraction of optical power in the active
layer concerning details of the transverse
and lateral optical field confinement factor.
Lasing occurs when the gain of one or
several guided modes is sufficient to
exceed the optical loss during one
roundtrip through the cavity: that is z=2L

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During this roundtrip only this roundtrip

only the fraction R1 and R2 of the optical
radiation are reflected from the two laser
ends 1 and 2, respectively, where R1 and
R2 of the optical radiation are reflected
from the two laser ends 1 and 2
respectively, where R1 and R2 are mirror
reflectivities or Fresenel Reflection
coefficient, which are given by
n1 n2 2
R [
] 4.24
n1 n2

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For reflection of light at an interface

between two materials having refractive
indices n1 and n2. From this lasing
condition Eq 4.23 becomes

I (2 L) I (0) R1R2 exp{2 L[g (hv) (hv)]} 4.25

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32

As the lasing threshold, a steady state

oscillation takes place and the magnitude
and phase of the returned wave must be
equal to those of the original wave. This
gives the conditions, for the amplitude,

I (2 L) I (0) 4.26

And for the phase

j 2 L

1 4.27

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33

The condition to just reach the lasing

threshold is the point at which the optical
gain is equal to the total loss t in the
cavity. From Equation 4.26 this condition
is g 1 ln[ 1 ] 4.28
th

2L

R1 R2

end

Where end is the mirror loss in the lasing

cavity.

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34

Example 4.7: For GaAs, R1=R2 = 0.32 for uncoated facets (32% of the radiant
is reflected at a facet) and (alpha cap) = 10 /cm. This yields gth = 33/cm for
a laser diode of length L= 500 micrometer.

Design of Laser diode length, gain and Reflecions

Solution:
1
1
gth t
ln[
] end 4.28
2 L R1 R2
gth = 33/cm

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Qno. 4.9 Design of Laser gain,

length and absoption coefficient.
A) A GaAlAs laser diode has a 500 m
cavity length which has an effective
absorption coefficient of 10/cm. For
uncoated facets the reflectivities are 0.32
at each end. What is the optical gain at the
lasing threshold?
Solution:

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4.9 (b) Design of laser gain

dependencies on Reflectivities
If one end of the laser is coated with
dielectric reflector so that its reflectivity is
now 90 percent, what is the optical gain
the lasing threshold?
Solution:

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4.9 (c) Relationship between internal and

external quantum efficiency
If the internal quantum efficiency is 0.65
what is the external quantum efficiency in
cases of a, b?
Solution:

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4.10 Dependencies of external Efficiency

on material composition
Find the external quantum efficiency for a
Ga1-xAlxAs with x=0.03 which has a optical
power versus current relationship of 0.5
Mw/mA (e.g as shown in fig 4.35)
Solution:

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The threshold current Ith is the

conventionally defined by extrapolation of
the lasing region of the power versus
current as shown in the next slide.

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42

For Laser Structures that have strong

carrier confinement, the threshold current
density for stimulated emission Jth can to
a good approximation be related to the
lasing threshold optical gain by

gth J th 4.29
Where is a constant that depends on the
specific device construction.

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LASER DIOD RATE EQUATION

For a pn junction with a carrier
confinement region of depth d, the the rate
equation are given by.
d

Cn Rsp
4.30
dt
ph

=stimulated emission +spontaneous

emission + photon loss which governs the
number of photons and

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44

dn J
n

Cn 4.31
dt qd sp

Injection +spontaneous recombination+

stimulated emission

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Solving these two equations for a steady

state condition will yeild an expression for
the output power. The steady state is
characterized by the left-hand sides of
equation 4.30 and 4.31 being equal to
zero. First from Eq 4.30, assuming Rsp is
negligible and noting that d must be
positive when is small. dt

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46

We have Cn 0 4.32
ph
This shows that n must exceed a
threshold value nth in
order for
to
increase. Using Eq 4.31, this threshold
value can be expressed in terms of the
threshold current Jth needed to maintain
an invesion level n=nth in the steady state
when the number of photons =0
nth J th

4.33
sp qd

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This expression defines the current

requirement to sustain an excess electron
density in the laser when spontaneous
emission is only decay mechanism.
Next consider the photon and elctron rate
equation in the steady state condition at
the lasing threshold. Respectively, Eq 4.30
and 4.31 becomes

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s
0 Cnth s Rsp
4.34
ph
and
J nth
0

Cnth s 4.35
qd sp

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Where s is the steady state photon

density. Adding Eqs 4.34 and 4.35 using
Eq 4.33 for the term nth / sp and solving for
s yields the number of photons per unit
volume.

ph
s
( J J th ) ph Rsp 4.36
qd

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50

External Quantum Efficiency

The external differential quantum
efficiency ext is defined as the number of
photons emitted per radiative electron hole
pair recombination above threshold.
Under the assumption that above
threshold the gain coefficient remains
fixed at gth, ext is given by

ext

i ( gth )

4.37
gth

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Here i is the internal quantum efficiency.

This is not a well defined quantity in laser
diodes, but most measurements show that
= 0.6-0.7 at room temperature.
i
Experimentally ext ,is calculated from the
straight line portion of the curve for
emitted optical power P versus drive
current I, which gives
q dP
dP (mW )
ext
0.8065 ( m)
4.38
Eg dl
dl (mA)

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52

Resonant Frequencies
Now let us return to Eq 4.27 to examine
the resonant frequencies of the laser. The
condition in Eq 4.27 holds when

2 L 2 m 4.39
Where m is an integer. Using 2 n /

For the propagation constant from Eq 2.46

we have
L
2 Ln
m

/ 2n

v 4.40

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53

The relationship between gain and

frequency can be assumed to have the
gaussian form

( 0 )
g ( ) g (0) exp[
] 4.41
2
2
2

Where 0 is the wavelength at the center

of the spectrum, is the spectral width of
the gain, and the maximum gain g(0) is
proportional to the population inversion.

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To find the frequency spacing, consider

two successive modes of frequency Vm-1
an Vm represented by the integers m-1
and m. From equ 4.40 we have.
2 Ln
m 1
vm 1 4.42
c
And

2 Ln
m
vm 4.43
c

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55

Subtracting these two equations yields

2 Ln
2 Ln
1
(vm vm 1 )
v 4.4 4
c
c
From which we have the frequency
c
spacing.
v

2 Ln

4.45

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56

This can be related to the wavelength

spacing through the relationship
v / v / yielding

4.46
2Ln
2

Examples 4.8 and 4.9, do it by youself

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58

Example 4.8
As GaAs laser operating at 850nm has a
500 micrometer length and a refractive
index n=3.7. What are the frequency and
wavelength spacing? If at a half power
point, -0 = 2n, what is the spectral width
of the gain?

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59

Solution of Example 4.8

From Equation 4.45
c
v
4.45
2 Ln
= 81 GHz
From equation 4.46

2
2Ln

= 0.2 nm

4.46

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60

From Equation 4.41

( 0 )
g ( ) g (0) exp[
] 4.41
2
2
2

g( ) =0.5 g(0) and yields

= 1.7 nm

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61

Example 4.9
Consider a double heterostructure edge
emitting Fabry Perot AlGaAs laser, which
emits at 900 nm. Suppose that the laser
chip is 300 micrometer long and the
refractive index of the laser material is 4.3,
Find out m and the spacing between the
lasing modes ?

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62

Solution of Example 4.9

From equation 4.40

L
2 Ln
m

v 4.40
/ 2n
c

m= 2866 is the number of half wavelengths

spanning the region between the Fabry = Perot
mirror surfaces.
From equation 2

2Ln

4.46

= 0.3 nm spacing between the lasing

modes

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Laser Diode Structure and

Radiation Patterns

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69

Problem 4.16

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70

Single Mode Laser

A phase grating is essentially a region of
periodically varying refractive index that
causes tow counter propagating travelling
waves to couple. The coupling is at
maximum for wavelengths close to the
Bragg wavelength g which is related
to the period of the corrugations
by
2nc
g

4.47

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71

In the distributed feedback (DFB) laser,

the grating for the wavelength selector is
formed over the entire active region. As
shown in fig 4.31 in an ideal DFB laser the
longitudinal modes are spaced
symmetrically around B at
wavelengths given by

B
B
[m 1/ 2] 4.48
2n2le
2

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Modulation of Laser Diodes

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78

The photon lifetime is the average time

that the photon resides in the lasing cavity
before being lost either by absorption or
by emission through the facets. In a Fabry
Perrot cavity, the photon life time is

1
ph

c
1
1
c
[
ln
] gth 4.49
n
2 L R1 R2
n

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79

A laser diode can readily be pulse

modulated since the photon lifetime is
much smaller than the carrier life time. If
the laser is completely turned off after
each pulse, the spontaneous carrier
lifetime will limit the modulation rate. This
is because of a current pulse of amplitude
Ip a period of time td given by
td ln

IP

IP
4.50
( I B I th )

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When using a directly modulated laser

diode for high speed transmission
systems, the modulation frequency can be
no larger than the frequency of the
relaxation oscillations of the laser field.The
relaxation oscillation depends on both the
spontaneous lifetime and the photon
lifetime. Theoretically, assuming a linear
dependence of the optical gain on carrie
density, the relaxtion oscillation occures
approximately at

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1
1
I
1/2
f
[

1]

4.51
1/2
2 ( sp ph ) I th

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83

Laser Linewidth
In a semiconductor material both the
optical gain and the refractive index
depends on the actual carrier density in
the medium. This relationship leads to an
index gain coupling mechanism, that is,
it gives rise in an interaction between
phase noise and the light intensity. The
theoretically calculated result is
Rsp
v
(1 2 ) 4.52
4 l

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84

The linewidth expression in equ 4.52 can

be rewritten in terms of the optical output
power Pout as

v hvg th nsp t
2
g

8 Pout

4.53

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85

External Modulation

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88

Temperature Effects
An important factor to consider in the
application of laser diodes is the
temperature dependence of the threshold
current Ith(T). This parameter increases
with temperature in all types of
semiconductor lasers because of various
complex temperature dependence
factors.

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89

The complexity of these factors prevents

the formulation of a single equation that
holds for all devices and temperature
ranges. However the temperature
variation of Ith can be approximated by the
emperical expression
T / T0
th
z

I (T ) I e

4.54

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93

Line Coding
NRZ AND RZ Signal Formats
Block Codes

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Light Source Linearity

High radiance LEDs and laser diodes are
well suited optical sources for wildeband
analog applications provided a method is
implemented to compensate fro any
nonlinearities of these devices. In an
analog system, the time varying electric
analog signals s(t) is used to modulate an
optical sources directly about a bias
current point IB as shown in next picture
slide the signal s(t) is applied, the optical
power P(t) is

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96

P (t ) Pt [1 ms (t )] 4.55
Here m is the modulation index defined as

IB

4.56

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In analog applications, any device

nonlinearities will create frequency
components in the output signal that were
not present in the input signal. Two
important nonlinear effects are harmonic
and intermodulation distortions. If the
signal input to a nonlinear device is a
simple cosine wave x(t) =Acost, the
out put will be
y (t ) A0 A1Cost A2Cos 2t A3Cos3t .... 4.587

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That is the output signal will consist of a

component at the input frequency plus
spurious components at zero
frequency, at the second harmonic
frequency 2, at the third harmonic
frequency 3 and so on. This effect
is called harmonic distortion.
The amount of nth order distortion in
An
decibels is =
20 log 4.58
Al

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100

To determine the intermodulation

distortion, the modulating signal of a
nonlinear device is taken to be sum of two
cosine waves x(t ) A1Cos1t A2Cos2t.
The output signal will then be the form
y (t )
B Cos (m n ) 4.59

mn

mn

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Reliability Considerations
For high quality sources having lifetimes
which follow a slow internal degradation
mode, the optical power P decreases with
time according to the exponential
relationship. P P e t / 0 4.60
0

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102

The operating lifetime s has been found

experimentally to depend on the current
density J through the relation

s J

4.61

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103

Where 1.5 n 2.0. For example by

doubling the current density, the lifetime
decreases by the factor of 3-4 since the
degradation rate of optical sources
increases with temperature, an Arrhenius
relationship of the form

E A / k BT

s Ke

4.62

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