Multiwavelength VCSEL transmitter for WDM parallel optical fiber interconnects

A combination of direct fiber coupling and broad-band add/drop filtering was used to demonstrate a 4-wavelength by 10-fiber vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)-based transmitter in a PGA package with MT-connectorized optical output. The use of a hybrid packaging scheme employing a fiber-ribbon-guided add/drop filter enables ten fibers by four wavelengths with a wide channel spacing. This means more wavelengths can be achieved either by using additional filters and/or by combining this approach with monolithic techniques for achieving multiple wavelengths per VCSEL die.