Abstract

Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser amplifiers (FPSLA) have potential applications for optical logic, because they display dispersive optical bistability which can be switched with microwatts of optical powers [1]. However, although the optical transition times are fast, the maximum clock frequency at which the bistability will operate is limited by the carrier recombination time. Consequently methods of reducing this time are important for high-speed logic applications [2]. One suggestion to reduce the recombination time is to operate the device at higher carrier densities, provided lasing action can be suppressed, e.g. by the use of a low-reflectivity coating on the facets [3]. In this paper we show experimentally how reducing the recombination time, by low-reflectivity coating the amplifier, increases the maximum clock frequency.

© 1991 Optical Society of America