Temperature dependence of bistable InGaAsP/InP lasers

An increase of hysteresis current width in bistable lasers with two or three sections was observed at higher temperatures. A rate equation analysis was performed where both carrier density dependence on lifetime and the bleaching of saturable absorption by the spontaneous emission were taken into account. We show that the increased loss of injected carriers due to Auger recombination process causes the increase in the hysteresis width. A small-signal stability analysis for the switch-off point revealed that increased coupling between carriers in the gain and absorption regions, through the absorption of superradiant emission, has the effect of raising the switch-off point to higher current levels. It was shown experimentally that, without changing the temperature, the current hysteresis width can be controlled by adjusting the current distribution in three sections.