Abstract

Recently experimental work has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of post amplification of directly modulated lasers by conventional (i.e, non quantum well) [1] and quantum well semiconductor optical amplifiers [2]. Semiconductor optical amplifiers, SOAs, are well-suited for this application owing to their potential for integration with other components. In these applications even with the modest peak power available from semiconductor lasers, the nonlinear properties of the SOA can be significant yielding dynamic gain saturation and also phase modulation through the associated modulation of the index of refraction [3].

© 1993 Optical Society of America