Recent advances in long-wavelength semiconductor lasers for optical fiber communication

A brief history of the semiconductor laser and a short tutorial on its basic operating principles are given. Some key criteria for semiconductor lasers to be used in advanced systems are discussed. Various advanced laser structures (including single-frequency, high-speed and wavelength tunable lasers, laser transmitter optoelectronic integrated circuits, and coherent receiver photonic integrated circuits) are presented together with their performance characteristics.>