Modeling and Simulation of a Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Modulator Using X-Parameters

We present a behavioral model in frequency domain for a bulk reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) used as a modulator in radio-over-fiber systems using X-parameters. X-parameters were extracted by the simulation based on the physical model of the RSOA in Agilent advanced design systems software. Unlike S-parameters, X-parameters consider magnitude and phase information on all harmonic and inter-modulation spectra. An excellent match was achieved between the results of the simulations based on the X-parameter model and the physical model. The X-parameters model based simulation, however, ran five times faster than the physical model based one. X-parameter models also allow intellectual property control.