Singlemode output powers exceeding 165mW (CW, 25 degrees) are demonstr
ated from 1550nm DFB lasers designed for externally-modulated analogue
and digital transmission. The devices have been incorporated into a c
ommercial high-reliability fibre-pigtailed butterfly module which offe
rs output powers up to 40mW, linewidth < 1MHz, and RIN < 160dB/Hz.