Optoelectronic component with thermoelectric temperature control

摘要

A variable thermal link 126 is disposed between a thermoelectric device 124 and a heat sink 118. The variable thermal link 126 controls the variable thermal coupling between the thermoelectric device 124 and the heat sink 118 such that the thermal coupling is reduced when the thermoelectric device is operable in heating mode and relatively increased when the thermoelectric device is in cooling mode. The variable thermal link 126 may comprise a moveable left 142 and a piezoelectric actuator 64. Alternatively, the variable thermal link 126 may be a bimetallic strip or a shape memory alloy. This arrangement enhances the temperature control of an optoelectronic device such as a semiconductor laser thereby allowing precise wavelength/frequency control.