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Abstract
Highly efficient long wavelength vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) are presented.
A carrier confining structure was introduced by etching mesas in the active region. The carrier confinement
resulted in increased efficiency and amplifier gain. The efficiency was increased by a factor of 3 as
compared to previous devices made from the same active region material. 17 dB fiber-to-fiber was
measured and the internal gain was estimated to be 24 dB. This is the highest reported amplifier gain for a
long wavelength VCSOA to date.
Summary
5
We have incorporated carrier confinement into
0
an optically pumped vertical-cavity
semiconductor optical amplifier structure. The
-5 carrier confinement improved the efficiency by
at least a factor of 3. The signal gain of the new
-10 structure was 17 dB, fiber-to-fiber; the internal
1290.0 1290.5 1291.0 1291.5 1292.0 1292.5
gain was estimated to be 24 dB, which is the
Wavelength [nm]
highest gain reported to date for a long
wavelength VCSOA.
Fig. 4. Gain spectrum at 15 dB peak gain. Input
signal power is –30 dBm. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs. S.
Mohrdiek and C. Harder of Nortel Networks for
Discussion providing the pump laser. This work was
The amplifier gain was increased and the supported by the Defense Advanced Research
efficiency of the VCSOAs was greatly improved Projects Agency (DARPA) via the Center for
by using a carrier confined active region. Carrier Chips with Heterogeneously Integrated
recombination will inevitably occur at the Photonics (CHIPS).
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