Well-defined wavelength distributed feedback laser diodes (DFB-LDs) are required in WDM network systems. Since the EDFA gain bands have been expanded, even more wavelengths are needed for large-capacity dense-WDM transmission systems. A precisely pitch-controlled Bragg grating fabricated by electron beam (EB) lithography is very attractive for realizing these DFB-LDs. This paper describes this precise pitch- and phase-controlled grating delineated by a novel method called weighted-dose allocation variable-pitch EB-lithography (WAVE). In this method, an EB-dose profile for the grating is precisely controlled by a combination of the allocation and weighting of multiple exposures. This enables us to fabricate a precise fixed-pitch grating as well as a flexible grating with a continuously chirped structure. The stitching error at the exposure field boundary, the grating pitch, and the phase shift were evaluated by using a moire pattern generated by superimposing the microscope raster scan and the grating on a wafer. We also estimated amounts of the stitching errors from fabricated and calculated lasing characteristics, and clarified that the affect of the errors on the single-mode stability of LDs is negligible. Precise wavelength controlled λ/4 phase shifted DFB-LDs were successfully demonstrated as a result of both the WAVE method and the highly uniform MOVPE crystal growth.

A theoretical study on high slope-efficiency phase-shifted DFB laser diodes is presented. We have proposed a new grating structure called asymmetrically-pitch-modulated (APM) grating, and calculated its slope- efficiency and single-mode-yield. In order to take into account the modulated grating period; we have developed an F-matrix which directly includes a chirped grating structure. APM phase-shifted DFB laser diodes consist of a uniform grating in one half section of the cavity and a chirped grating in the other half. This structure causes asymmetrical field distribution inside the cavity and the optical output power from one facet is larger than that from the other facet. According to the simulation results, when the normalized coupling coefficient κ L is 3.0, the front-to-rear output power ratio is 2.6, while the single-mode-yield remains at 100%, and simultaneously the slope-efficiency improvement becomes 65% better than that of ordinary quarter-wave phase-shifted DFB lasers of the same κ L value.