European Scientists use Discovery’s High-Speed Photoreceiver to Characterize 2 Micron Wavelength Mode-Locked Laser


Ewing, NJ - September 10, 2008

Discovery Semiconductors, Inc. has provided a high-speed photoreceiver to Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland for their research on 2 micron wavelength mode-locked semiconductor disk lasers. The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at TUT has recently demonstrated a GaSb-based disk laser that emits 157ps to 240ps wide optical pulses with upto 80 mW average power at repetition rates varying from 2.75 GHz to 458 MHz [1]. These lasers are promising sources for spectroscopic applications, LIDAR and medical applications.

“It was difficult to find photoreceivers that were fast enough to accurately characterize the optical pulses emitted by our mode-locked laser. Discovery is the only company we could find that manufactures photoreceivers having the necessary bandwidth, sensitivity, and power handling capability at 2 micron wavelength,” said Dr. Antti Härkönen, a researcher at ORC.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the results obtained by ORC, which are as much a testament to the high speed performance of their mode-locked lasers, as our photodiodes,” added Mr. Abhay Joshi, President and CEO of Discovery Semiconductors. Mr. Joshi explained, “The 2 micron photodiodes are based on lattice mismatched InGaAs / InP material system that is prone to crystal defects. It is challenging to attain large bandwidth while keeping the noise and leakage current low.” Discovery’s 2 micron photoreceivers demonstrate a 3dB bandwidth of 6GHz without any active cooling [2].

[1] A. Härkönen, J. Rautiainen, L. Orsila, M. Guina, K. Rößner, M. Hümmer, T. Lehnhardt, M. Müller, A. Forchel, M. Fischer, J. Koeth, and O. Okhotnikov, “2-um Mode-Locked Semiconductor Disk Laser Synchronously Pumped Using an Amplified Diode Laser,” IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 20, No. 15, pp. 1332-1334, 2008.

[2] A. Joshi and D. Becker, “High-Speed Low-Noise p-i-n InGaAs Photoreceiver at 2-um Wavelength,” IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 551-553, 2008.


Discovery Semiconductors is an industry leader in manufacturing ultrafast, high optical power handling InGaAs photodiodes, radio frequency over fiber optical receivers, balanced optical receivers and several other custom products for applications ranging from analog RF links to ultrafast digital communications. Discovery’s subsystems include Kitty Hawk, an ultra-fast Optical Coherent System.

For additional information, including complete product specifications, operational capabilities and pricing, or to discuss your application in detail, please call Discovery at: (609) 434-1311 or fax: (609) 434-1317.

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