Title :
Carrier-induced lensing in broad-area and tapered semiconductor amplifiers
Author :
Hall, D.C. ; Surette, M.R. ; Goldberg, L. ; Mehuys, D.
Author_Institution :
Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA
Abstract :
Wavefront lensing due to nonuniform carrier saturation in rectangular (broad-area) and tapered GaAlAs amplifiers is described. Lensing dependence on current and input power, measured interferometrically and by a lens displacement method, agree with calculations based on a beam propagation model. Lensing induced astigmatism, calculated for a representative optical focusing system, exhibited minimal variation of less than 0.3 μm/A under saturated high power conditions in both amplifier types.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aberrations; aluminium compounds; carrier density; gallium arsenide; laser beams; light interferometry; optical self-focusing; semiconductor lasers; GaAlAs; GaAlAs amplifiers; beam propagation model; broad-area semiconductor amplifiers; carrier-induced lensing; current dependence; input power dependence; interferometric measurement; lens displacement method; lensing induced astigmatism; nonuniform carrier saturation; optical focusing system; rectangular amplifiers; saturated high power conditions; tapered semiconductor amplifiers; wavefront lensing; Current measurement; Displacement measurement; Lenses; Optical amplifiers; Optical interferometry; Optical propagation; Power measurement; Power system modeling; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Vision defects;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
