Driving high-speed VCSELs

A comparison of the small‐signal and transient responses of high‐speed VCSELs using ideal as well as realistic current and voltage drivers is performed. A nonlinear VCSEL equivalent model is implemented and the associated parameters are extracted from the dc and ac measurements of a commercially available packaged device. The simulations, using the extracted realistic VCSEL models, show that the employment of voltage drivers results in an improvement of 74% of the 3‐dB cutoff frequency of the optical‐current signal. Moreover, an 80% reduction of the rise and fall time and a 66% reduction of the signal delay are observed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 44: 41–45, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20541