Laser driver with subthreshold laser bias and turn-on-delay compensation by prejittering of the modulating current

In the paper the solution of burst mode capable laser driver with high extinction ratio is presented. The concept is to bias the laser in subthreshold regime and to introduce the prejittering of modulating current. It is shown that even quite small bias gives significant reduction of laser turn-on delay when compared with the zero bias scheme, still allowing high extinction ratio, in range of 35–40 dB. The proposed prejittering circuit performs pattern dependent compensation of turn-on delay induced distortions of optical signal, making the driver suitable for high bit rate data transmission. The experimental driver design is described, and measurement results are reported.