A tunable laser source (10) with an integrated optical modulator (20). The laser source (10) is a widely tunable semiconductor laser that is comprised of an active region on top of a thick low bandgap, waveguide layer (22), wherein both the waveguide layer (220) and the active region are fabricated between a p-doped region and an n-doped region. An electro-absorption modulator (20) is integrated into the semiconductor laser (10), wherein the electro-absorption modulator (20) shares the waveguide layer (22) with the semiconductor laser.