Analytical model of a semiconductor optical amplifier

Author

Brosson, Philippe

Author_Institution

Alcatel Alsthom Recherche, Marcoussis, France

Volume

12

Issue

1

fYear

1994

fDate

1/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

49

Lastpage

54

Abstract

The spatial dependence of the material gain is introduced in the model of a semiconductor optical amplifier. Analytical expressions of the profiles of the carrier density, spontaneous emission, and amplified fields are obtained for amplifiers with arbitrary facet reflectivities. The nonuniformity of the carrier density is demonstrated in the case of low facet reflectivities. The model predicts the output saturation power and gain ripple, with good agreement with experimental results in resonant and traveling-wave amplifiers. Very low-gain ripple measured in low facet reflectivities amplifiers is explained by the model. A comparison with the uniform gain model shows that important deviations can occur in the case of low facet reflectivities. It is also shown that with the currently achievable low facet reflectivities, the maximum available gain is limited by spontaneous emission

Keywords

carrier density; laser theory; reflectivity; semiconductor device models; semiconductor lasers; amplified fields; analytical model; arbitrary facet reflectivities; carrier density; gain ripple; low facet reflectivities; material gain; maximum available gain; nonuniformity; output saturation power; resonant amplifiers; semiconductor optical amplifier; spatial dependence; spontaneous emission; traveling-wave amplifiers; Analytical models; Charge carrier density; Optical amplifiers; Optical materials; Predictive models; Reflectivity; Resonance; Semiconductor materials; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Spontaneous emission;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.265734

Filename

265734