Title :
Optical bistability in a traveling-wave SOA connected to a DFB laser diode: theory and experiment
Author :
D´Oosterlinck, Wouter ; Morthier, Geert ; Baets, Roel ; Erneux, Thomas
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Inf. Technol., Ghent Univ.
Abstract :
We investigate the bistable response of a traveling-wave semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) connected bidirectionally to a distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode. By contrast to dispersive DFB amplifiers, bistability is possible for a broad wavelength range of the injected optical signal. A theoretical analysis clarifies the origin of the phenomenon and the conditions under which it occurs. Numerical simulations and experimental results confirm the theoretical analysis. Experimentally obtained step heights up to 25 dB and widths of the bistability domain of 1-4 dB have been found
Keywords :
distributed feedback lasers; optical bistability; semiconductor optical amplifiers; DFB laser; distributed feedback laser diode; optical bistability; semiconductor optical amplifier; traveling-wave SOA; Diode lasers; Dispersion; Flip-flops; Nonlinear optics; Optical amplifiers; Optical bistability; Optical feedback; Optical pumping; Optical signal processing; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Optical bistability; optical signal processing; semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA);
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2006.877295
