| The operating characteristics of diode lasers drift considerably with temperature, and the lasers require careful temperature control to be of use in advanced optical communication systems. Thermoelectric coolers are presently used for this task, but they add significant cost and complexity to the system. As an alternative to temperature control, strain arising from differential thermal expansion may be used to counteract the deleterious effects of temperature drift. The strain alters the energy band structure, automatically stabilizing gain and refractive index, so that the operating wavelength, threshold current, and differential efficiency are automatically temperature compensated.;Temperature-dependent hydrostatic pressure may be used to stabilize the bandgap and refractive index of a semiconductor. A 50% reduction in the temperature drift of both the wavelength of peak gain and the modal wavelength of a 1.5 ;Temperature-dependent anisotropic stress may be used to stabilize the gain and refractive index. Nearly complete stabilization of the modal wavelength of a laser mounted on a bimetallic heatsink was obtained, as well as a record 133 K threshold current characteristic temperature.;Calculations of the effects of strain on band structure, and the resulting effects on wavelength, threshold current, and differential efficiency, successfully account for the experimental results. |
