Femtosecond Self- And Cross-Phase Modulation In Semiconductor Laser Amplifiers

    Authors

    M. Y. Hong; Y. H. Chang; A. Dienes; J. P. Heritage; P. J. Delfyett; S. Dijaili;F. G. Patterson

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.

    Keywords

    INGAASP OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS; TRAVELING-WAVE AMPLIFIERS; INDEX; NONLINEARITIES; SUBPICOSECOND GAIN; DYNAMICS; PULSES; ALGAAS; AMPLIFICATION; DIODES; Engineering, Electrical & Electronic; Optics; Physics, Applied

    Abstract

    We present detailed derivation of our new model for femtosecond pulse amplification in semiconductor laser amplifiers. The various dynamic nonlinear terms of gain compression and associated self-phase modulation are derived semiphenomenologically, and are discussed physically. Included are the effects of carrier depletion, carrier heating and spectral hole-burning, as well as linear and two photon absorption and the instantaneous nonlinear index. Additionally, we account for dynamically changing gain curvature and slope. We apply the theory to strong signal cross-phase-cross-gain modulation experiments with similar to 500 fs pulses in a broad area GaAs amplifier and show that the model accurately describes the observed complex phenomena. We also present experimental results on single beam strong signal amplification in two different quantum-well amplifiers using 150-200 fs duration pulses. For such pulse lengths, carrier heating becomes an integrating nonlinearity and its self-phase modulation is similar to that due to carrier depletion. Additionally, since the pulse spectrum is broad, the gain slope and curvature shift and narrow it. The resultant spectral distortions are very different than observed (and modeled) earlier for the similar to 500 fs pulses. The model is again able to correctly describe the evolution of these ultrashort pulses, indicating that it remains valid, even though purse durations approach the intraband relaxation time.

    Journal Title

    Ieee Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics

    Volume

    2

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-1996

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    523

    Last Page

    539

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:A1996WX09700012

    ISSN

    1077-260X

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