Monolithic integration on InP substrate of a laser directly modulated and a ring resonator for future access networks

The future technology migration in access networks compels to develop key innovative transmitters operating at 10Gb/s around 1550nm and capable of transmitting data in extended reach passive optical networks (>60km). A laser modulated directly appears to be a low cost and a simple solution to address these needs. However, as such, reaching a high extinction ratio implies to reduce the distance of transmission because of frequency chirping inherent to high bit rate modulation at 1550nm. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel cost-effective transmitter based on the monolithic integration on InP substrate of a directly modulated laser and a ring resonator. The latter is used as an optical eye reshaper which enables to increase the extinction ratio above 9dB. Transmissions up to 65km with 5.8dBm of modulated optical power coupled into the fibre is demonstrated, proving the feasibility of our transmitter for Next Generation Passive Optical Network stage 2.