We present a thorough comparison of the characteristics of both tunable and multi-wavelength edge-emitting laser diodes. Both devices are currently seen as the most promising transmitters for future wavelength division multiplexing systems and networks. In our comparison, considerable attention is therefore paid to characteristics such as channel spacing and maximum number of channels and to frequency accuracy. Cost, stability and ease of use are other aspects which have been given attention, although they are not easily quantified. Because of their compactness and robustness, we only consider integrated devices. References: 53
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