IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, VOL. 15, NO.
2, FEBRUARY 2003
25-GHz-Spacing Wavelength-Monitor Integrated
DFB Laser Module for DWDM Applications
H. Nasu, Member, IEEE, T. Mukaihara, T. Takagi, M. Oike, T. Nomura, and A. Kasukawa, Associate Member, IEEE
Abstract—For the first time, a 25-GHz-spacing wavelength mon-
itor is successfully integrated into an industry standard 14-pin but-
terfly laser module through the use of a unique configuration. The
temperature-induced wavelength drift of these wavelength-mon-
itor integrated laser modules for a case temperature ranging from
5 C to 70 C is less than 10 pm.
Index Terms—Distributed-feedback laser, wavelength-division
multiplexing, wavelength monitor.
I. INTRODUCTION
T HE DEMAND for higher transmission capacity on
existing optical networks has always been rising. In
order to meet this demand, the channel spacing of dense
wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) systems must be
reduced in order to increase the number of channels. To manage
the channel wavelength of DWDM systems, wavelength
monitoring techniques such as the use of arrayed-waveguide
grating [1], fiber grating [2], active-layer junction voltage
detection [3], and etalon [4]–[7] have been reported. Among
these techniques, the use of etalon for wavelength monitoring
is the only one that offers simplicity, integration capability, and
ultrawide band.
In [4], laser sources employing wavelength monitoring based
on etalon for the stabilization of a single channel was reported.
Recently, the performance (e.g., wavelength tuning and output
power) of wavelength-monitor integrated laser module based on
this technique has been enhanced for 50-GHz-spaced DWDM
applications [5], [6]. In the near future, DWDM systems will re-
quire 25-GHz spacing between adjacent channels. This narrow
channel spacing imposes a more stringent requirement on wave-
length drift in order to achieve sufficient channel crosstalk sup-
pression. Besides tighter wavelength control at 25-GHz channel
spacing, the relatively longer cavity of the etalon makes it diffi-
cult to accommodate it in the standard 14-pin butterfly package.
In this letter, the design and performance of the
25-GHz-spacing wavelength-monitor integrated dis-
tributed-feedback (DFB) laser module [7] implemented
using the industry standard 14-pin butterfly laser module are
reported.
Manuscript received June 13, 2002; revised October 18, 2002.
H. Nasu, T. Mukaihara, T. Takagi, T. Nomura, and A. Kasukawa are with
Yokohama R&D Laboratories, The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Kanagawa 220-
0073, Japan.
M. Oike is with Fitel Photonics Laboratories, The Furukawa Electric Co.,
Ltd., Chiba 290-8555, Japan.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/LPT.2002.806845
1041-1135/03$17.00 © 2003 IEEE
293
Fig. 1. Schematic top view for laser module.
II. DESIGN OF WAVELENGTH-MONITOR INTEGRATED
LASER MODULE
The unique configuration of the 25-GHz-spacing wave-
length-monitor integrated laser module is shown in Fig. 1. The
collimated light from the rear facet of the DFB laser diode
(LD) is split into two beams whereby one is used for power
monitoring and the other is used for wavelength monitoring by
passing it through an etalon having a period of 25 GHz. In this
unique configuration, the light incident on the anti-reflection
coated (less than 0.5% from 1480 to 1620 nm) prism is sym-
metrically divided about the axis of incidence. This enables
the power monitoring and wavelength monitoring photodiodes
to be mounted on the same submount, thereby reducing the
number of piece parts in comparison to the technique that uses
half mirror [5] instead of prism. Hence, the major advantage
of using a prism as a beam splitter is that it frees up space in
the module, thus allowing the longer cavity etalon (25-GHz
channel spacing requires relatively longer cavity etalon in
comparison to 50-GHz channel spacing) to be integrated into
the industry standard 14-pin butterfly laser module. Also, the
use of a prism simplifies assembly process and the alignment
process to couple light to the photodiodes whose diameter is
300 m.
From the ITU-T recommendation [8], the allowable wave-
length drift for 10-Gb/s DWDM systems with a channel spacing
of 25 GHz should be less than 10 pm throughout the laser
module lifetime. In order to meet this requirement, separate
base plate, thermistor, and thermo-electric cooler (TEC) were
used for the LD and the wavelength monitor. This facilitates the
temperature of the etalon to be constantly controlled so as to
eliminate wavelength drift induced by temperature variation of
the etalon and to locate the locked-point on the wavelength dis-
criminator curve on the ITU grids. Besides, this greatly reduces
the temperature dependence of the prism-splitting ratio. It was
noted that the deviation of the prism-splitting ratio was less than
294
Fig. 2. Wavelength discriminator curve at P = 20 mW.
Fig. 3. Change in output power as a function of case temperature. The
photocurrent of the power monitor photodiode was kept constant by an
automatic power control circuit.
1% for temperatures ranging from 20 C to 35 C (i.e., the oper-
ation temperature range of the etalon to facilitate tuning of the
wavelength-discrimination curve such that its midpoint on the
positive slopes coincides with the ITU grids).
III. EVALUATIONS
The wavelength discriminator curve at an output power of
20 mW was measured and shown in Fig. 2. A free spectral range
of exactly 25 GHz (i.e., 0.2 nm in terms of wavelength) and a
wavelength sensitivity as high as 7.3 A/GHz were observed at
the locked point. In order to keep the locked point close to the
midpoint of the positive slope on the wavelength discriminator
curve, the temperature of the etalon was accurately controlled
to a constant value (e.g., 27.42 C for this sample).
The design, using separate thermistor and TEC for the LD
and wavelength monitor (2 TEC design), may cause a concern
on the axis off of wavelength monitor induced by thermo-me-
chanical motion since the wavelength monitor is mounted on
a different base plate from the LD. However, measured results
(Fig. 3) reveal that the change in output power as a function
of case temperature stays within 1 (much smaller than the
generally stated value of 10 ). Therefore, thermo-mechanical
motion of the assembly is expected to be small enough for both
power monitoring and wavelength monitoring.
IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, VOL. 15, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2003
Fig. 4. Characteristics of wavelength drift as a function of case temperature.
The emission wavelength at 25 C was taken as the reference. The output power
of the laser module was kept at 20 mW.
For wavelength-monitor integrated laser modules, there is
virtually no wavelength drift due to laser aging. The factors that
caused wavelength drift are temperature variation of the case
and thermistor aging. To suppress wavelength drift induced
by case-temperature variation, a thermal simulation was per-
formed on a commercial software package (i.e., Stream from
Software Cradle Co., Ltd.) to find the best location to place a
temperature sensor to sense the case temperature with optimum
sensitivity. This simulator uses the finite-volume method to
solve the Navier–Stokes equation, equation of continuity, and
equation of conservation of energy to obtain the temperature
distribution. Using this simulator, the temperature distribution
around the etalon as well as the LD was calculated at several
case temperatures. Based on these results, the optimum loca-
tion for the etalon thermistor and LD thermistor was obtained.
Experimental verification was then conducted and results show
remarkable wavelength-locking performance was achieved
with a simple analogue feedback circuit. As can be seen from
Fig. 4, the largest wavelength drift of the 2 TEC design was
1.5 pm for the case temperature range from 5 C to 70 C.
For the case of a conventional design where the temperature of
LD and etalon were simultaneously controlled (1 TEC design),
the wavelength drift over case temperature is as much as 7 pm.
Therefore, the technique of controlling the etalon temperature
separately greatly reduces the temperature-induced wavelength
drift caused by the etalon.
To ensure that this unique configuration of the wave-
length-monitor integrated laser module has good mechanical
stability, temperature cycling (MIL-STD-883 Method 1010)
was performed. From the results shown in Fig. 5, the emis-
sion wavelength drifted by as much as more than 4 pm
after 100 cycles. However, the worst wavelength drift after
200 cycles is within 5 pm.
In order to compute the overall wavelength drift of these
wavelength-monitor integrated laser modules during their
life-span, thermistor aging was considered. The thermistors
used in these laser modules have a failure rate of less than 1 FIT
at 35 C for the worst condition, and their resistance degrades
by 1% (i.e., 0.2 C) after 25 years of usage. To calculate the
wavelength drift caused by thermistor aging, the deviation of
NASU et al.: 25-GHz-SPACING WAVELENGTH-MONITOR INTEGRATED DFB LASER MODULE 295

curve. Therefore, the anticipated worst overall wavelength

drift of the wavelength-monitor integrated laser modules
after 25 years of usage is 8.5 pm (i.e., 1.5 pm due to case
temperature variation; 5 pm due to mechanical stress; and 2 pm
due to thermistor aging—a coefficient of temperature-induced
wavelength drift of 10 pm C was considered).

IV. CONCLUSION
The integration of a 25-GHz-spacing wavelength monitor
into standard 14-pin butterfly laser module has been success-
fully realized. Excellent wavelength-locking has been achieved
with a simple analogue circuit for a case temperature ranging
from 5 C to 70 C by employing individual temperature
control for the LD and the etalon, and optimizing the location
for the temperature sensors. Over this temperature range, the
largest temperature-induced wavelength drift was as small as
Fig. 5. Characteristics of wavelength drift versus number of temperature
cycling.
1.5 pm. However, after these wavelength-monitor integrated
laser modules have undergone 200 cycles of temperature cy-
cling test, an additional wavelength drift of less than 5 pm was
introduced. Nevertheless, the worst overall wavelength drift of
these laser modules after 25 years of usage was anticipated to
be 8.5 pm. This value is within the ITU-T recommended wave-
length stability (i.e., 10 pm) for 10-Gb/s DWDM systems
having an adjacent channel spacing of 25 GHz.

Fig. 6. Evaluation of the deviation of the temperature-induced
wavelength-drift coefficient (d=dT ) over the operation temperature
range of the etalon.
the overall temperature-induced wavelength-drift coefficient
of these laser modules was evaluated (Fig. 6). Essen-
tially, is constant and the variation is attributed to noise
since subpicometer resolution was used in the measurement.
Generally, the reliability test has revealed that the sensitivity
of the photodiode shows weak dependence on temperature
(e.g., varies by less than 1% for a temperature range of 20 C
to 50 C). Hence, it is not expected that the small change in
photodiode sensitivity for a temperature difference of 0.2 C
will cause significant change to the wavelength discrimination
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