Integrated electroabsorption modulator/DBR laser linearized by RF current modulation

We measure the two-tone intermodulation distortion of an electroabsorption modulator integrated with a DBR laser. Driving the modulator with an ac current yields a significant improvement in linearity over conventional voltage modulation at RF frequencies up to 10 MHz with more than 13 dBc reduction in the minimum distortion values at 0.5 MHz. High-frequency performance is presently limited by the capacitance loading the current drive.>