On-chip gain switched frequency comb generation using a two sectioned single cavity laser without additional optical injection.

A tunable comb source is demonstrated on a monolithically integrated photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The PIC is a two section device designed to produce a single mode tunable spectrum, and the comb is generated by gain switching one section of the two sectioned laser. The laser produces a single mode spectra with a tunable range of 1543 - 1565 nm, and combs were generated with a frequency range of 1 - 10 GHz without requiring additional optical injection to maintain the phase coherence.