OPTICAL DEVICE, METHOD FOR STARTING THE OPTICAL DEVICE, METHOD FOR DRIVING THE OPTICAL DEVICE, AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical device which can prevent excess thermomodule current from flowing to the thermomodule in a heating direction and which can prevent a fault caused by the excess thermomodule current from occurring, in a device having an optical element changing in characteristics according to a temperature and the thermomodule for controlling the temperature of the optical element. SOLUTION: A resistance heater 24a is installed near a semiconductor laser element 16. When indicating temperature Ts of a thermistor 20 is lower than a predetermined starting temperature Tref1 at a semiconductor laser device 10A starting time, heating current Ih is supplied to the heater 24a, and the element 16 is preheated. When the indicating temperature Ts of the thermistor 20 is raised to the starting temperature Tref1, a laser drive current Iop and a thermomodule current Itec are started to be supplied to the laser element 16 and the thermomodule 38, and the semiconductor laser device 10A is started. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO