OPERATION OF AN LED WITH A SINGLE-MODE SEMICONDUCTOR AMPLIFIER AS A BROAD-BAND 1.3-MU-M TRANSMITTER SOURCE

A semiconductor amplifier and an edge-emitting LED are operated in a single-mode-fiber connected configuration to demonstrate a broad-linewidth 1.3-mu m transmitter, The output from the LED is increased by a 13.5-dB chip gain through the amplifier to 2.3-mW while maintaining a broad 3-dB spectral width of 600 Angstrom from the LED, A 600-Mb/s modulation speed was demonstrated, with open eye-patterns from the amplifier, with direct current modulation applied to the LED, A theoretical analysis shows that the LED-amplifier gain is about 7 dB less than the peak amplifier gain for a narrow-line signal due to the broad spectrum and wavelength offset of the LED, The 1.3-mu m LED-amplifier may be useful as a transmitter for fiber access networks to avoid optical beat interference noise, or as a broad-band source for wavelength sliced WDM networks. The device has the potential to be monolithically integrated for wavelengths at 1.3 and 1.5 mu m.