LOW-NOISE, HIGH-POWER OPTICAL AMPLIFIER

摘要

A multi-stage lasing semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) (100) device amplifies an optical signal. The multi-stage SOA (100) includes at least two SOA stages (110A-110N) coupled in series. Each SOA stage (110) includes a semiconductor gain medium (120) and a laser cavity (140) including the semiconductor gain medium (120). The medium is pumped above a lasing threshold for the laser cavity, which clamps the gain of the medium. An optical signal propagating through the medium is amplified by the gain-clamped medium. The SOA stages (110) are characterized by a design parameter which varies from stage to stage. In a preferred embodiment, the design parameter includes a noise figure and a saturable power, with both parameters increasing as the optical signal propagates from stage to stage. As a result, the multi-stage SOA (100) can achieve better noise performance and higher power outputs compared to comparable SOAs of constant noise figure and saturable power.