High gain, high efficiency vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers

Highly efficient long wavelength vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) are presented. A carrier confining structure was introduced by etching mesas in the active region. The carrier confinement resulted in increased efficiency and amplifier gain. The efficiency was increased by a factor of 3 as compared to previous devices made from the same active region material. 17 dB fiber-to-fiber gain was measured and the internal gain was estimated to be 24 dB. This is the highest reported amplifier gain for a long wavelength VCSOA to date.