Influence of the confinement factor on the wavelength-dependent output properties of a tapered traveling-wave semiconductor amplifier

Author

Gahl, A. ; Balle, S.

Author_Institution

Dept. de Fisica Interdisciplinar, MIEDEA, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Volume

11

Issue

11

fYear

1999

Firstpage

1375

Lastpage

1377

Abstract

We analyze the influence of the confinement factor on the output properties of a tapered traveling-wave semiconductor amplifier as a function of the wavelength of the input field and current injected into the amplifier. The interaction of the optical field with the amplifying medium is described by means of a susceptibility function taking into account both the gain and the carrier-induced antiguiding effect, while the beam propagation method is used to describe the evolution of the field along the amplifier. We find that, for the same input power, devices with lower optical confinement factors allow for the same output optical power with better beam quality and higher saturation power than devices with higher optical confinement factor, in agreement with the available experimental results.

Keywords

laser beams; laser theory; nonlinear optical susceptibility; optical saturation; quantum well lasers; semiconductor device models; semiconductor optical amplifiers; beam propagation method; beam quality; confinement factor; current injection; higher optical confinement factor; higher saturation power; input field; input power; optical confinement factors; output optical power; output properties; tapered traveling-wave semiconductor amplifier; wavelength-dependent output properties; Fiber lasers; Geometrical optics; Laser beams; Optical devices; Optical pumping; Optical saturation; Pump lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Stimulated emission;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.803050

Filename

803050