RUESCHLIKON, Switzerland -- Albis Optoelectronics AG, the leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative photodiodes for analog and digital applications, today announced the availability of PDCS200E, a side illuminated photodiode, optimized to monitor the output power of edge emitting laser chips.

Most of today’s optical transmitter packages contain a monitor photodiode that detects the little output power that is available at the rear facet of a transmitter laser chip. When monitoring edge emitting lasers such as FP or DFB laser diodes, there is a fundamental orientation mismatch between the laser light being emitted in the horizontal plane, and the upwards facing surface of the photodiode. Current monitor solutions therefore require an extra submount to achieve a 90° tilt of the photodiode surface in order to detect the light coming out of the laser back facet. With the introduction of PDCS200E, Albis now offers an alternative approach that eliminates this extra submount.

PDCS200E is a 180 um thick, side illuminated laser monitor photodiode that receives the light emitted at the laser back facet directly through its side facet instead of the top surface. It is an easy to use, pick and place component that is positioned directly behind the FP or DFB laser. No submount is required as the chip’s curved side surface diffracts the incoming light directly onto the photodiode active area. This new approach eliminates the need for an extra submount thus reducing component count and cost.

“PDCS200E achieves an excellent responsivity thanks to its curved side facet and large optical aperture. Our concept to monitor diode lasers no longer requires a costly submount with wrap-around electrical leads, thus reducing component count and cost of high-end transmitter packages”, claims Markus Blaser, Albis CTO. “Our side illuminated monitor diode is the first example of how we integrate additional optical functions into our traditional photodiode products”, notes Peter Cairoli, CEO. “This approach substantially reduces the cost of optical modules as these photodiodes can be manufactured on wafer level with high yields”.

During OFC at booth #1580, Albis representatives will be able to provide additional information on PDCS200E. Sampling has already started and several major customers have successfully tested this novel chip in their designs.

Albis Optoelectronics AG