Ultra-high Frequency Linear Fiber Optic Systems

Kam Y. Lau is Professor emeritus in the EECS department at U.C. Berkeley. He received his B.S., M.S.and Ph.D degrees in 1978, 1978 and 1981 respectively; all in Electrical Engineering from Caltech. Upon obtaining his doctorate, he joined Ortel Corporation as founding staff/chief scientist. His research in semiconductor laser dynamics established fundamental limits in speed and linearity of directly modulated laser diodes, which contributed to linear fiber-optic transmission products for Hybrid-Fiber-Coax (HFC) infrastructure widely deployed today for CATV-distribution and cable-modem internet-access - the basis of Ortel s successes - its IPO and subsequent acquisition by Lucent/Agere. He received the 1996 IEEE LEOS William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award, the 1996 IEEE LEOS Distinguished Lecturer Award, the 2008 OSA Nicholas Holonyak Award, the 2009 IEEE David Sarnoff Award and the 2009 IET J.J. Thomson Medal. He was an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University from 1988-90, and a professor of EECS at U.C. Berkeley since 1990. In 1997, he co-found LGC Wireless, Inc. ( L of LGC .) LGC Wireless delivers cost-effective in-building wireless coverage and capacity solutions around the world. LGC Wireless was acquired by ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) in 2007. Prof. Lau assumed Emeritus status in 2005.

Part I Physics of High Speed Lasers.- Basic Description of Laser Diode Dynamics by Spatially Averaged Rate Equations.- Conditions of Validity.- Basic "Small Signal" Modulation Response.- Distortions in Direct Modulation of Laser Diodes.- Direct Modulation beyond X-band by Operation at High Optical Power Density.- Improvement in Direct Modulation Speed by Enhanced Differential Optical Gain and Quantum Confinement.- Dynamic Longitudinal Mode Spectral Behavior of Laser Diodes under Direct High Frequency Modulation.- Signal-Induced Noise in Fiber Links.- Part II Direct Modulation of Semiconductor Lasers beyond Relaxation Oscillation.- Illustration of Resonant Modulation.- Resonant Modulation of Monolithic Laser Diodes at mm-Wave Frequencies.- Performance of Resonant Modulation in the mm-Wave Frequency
Range - Multi-subcarrier Modulation.- Resonant Modulation of Single-Contact Lasers.- Part III Fiber Transmission Effects, System Perspectives and Innovative Approach to Broadband mm-wave Subcarrier Optical Signals.- Fiber Chromatic Dispersion Effects of Broadband mm-Wave Subcarrier Optical Signals and Its Elimination.- Transmission Demonstrations.- Application of Linear Fiber Links to Wireless Signal Distribution - A High-level System Perspective.- Improvements in Baseband Fiber Optic Transmission by Superposition of High Frequency Microwave Modulation.- 16 mm-wave Signal Transport over Optical Fiber Links by "Feed-forward Modulation".- Frequency Planning for Minimal Intermodulation Distortion.- Erbium Fiber Amplifiers in Linear Lightwave Transmission.