Modeling and measurement of bistable semiconductor lasers

A theoretical model of bistable semiconductor lasers (BSL) under optical triggering is proposed, which takes into account the amplification and absorption processes in the laser structure. It has been found that the main factor limiting the highspeed operation of BSLs is the carrier lifetime in the absorber. A novel solution has been proposed consisting of bombarding the absorber with a proton beam. This paper presents the first experimental and theoretical results on the transition time and the turn-on jitter of such a BSL with optical triggering. Measurements on bulk and multiple quantum well BSLs revealed the dependence law of transition time and turn-on jitter on the injection currents. It has been found that, for a constant current in one active section, the rise time decreases but the fall time increases with injection current in the other section. An optimal current value can then be found to minimize the overall transition time. The measured turn-on jitter and relaxation oscillation period decrease with increasing injection current, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. 2.5 Gb/s optical triggering with a bit-error-rate less than 10^-9 is demonstrated, for the first time, by using such a BSL without electrical reset