Performance implications of the thermal-induced frequency drift in fast wavelength switched systems with heterodyne detection

The frequency modulation response and tuning dynamics of a two-section DFB laser are determined by carrier and thermal modulation of the active layer refractive index. In response to a step change in the injection current for switching between channels in a wavelength division multiplexed system, the optical frequency changes rapidly due to the carrier effect, and then slowly drifts toward a steady state value due to the thermal effect. For wavelength switched applications with heterodyne detection, the drifting of the optical frequency broadens the spectrum of the IF signal and may impose a limit on the time that the signal remains within the IF passband (residency time). The IF spectral broadening and residency time are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Based upon a minimum mean square error fit between experimental and theoretical FM responses, the dependence of the spectral broadening and residency time on the bias condition of the laser and the optical frequency switching interval is characterized.