SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIER WITH WIDEBAND ELECTRICAL RESPONSE

摘要

89-3-684 SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIER WITH WIDEBAND ELECTRICAL RESPONSE A semiconductor optical amplifier includes an active region having facets at opposite ends thereof which define an optical cavity having maximum optical gain at a gain peak waveleng .lambda.pk. An antireflection coating on each of the facets has a wavelength .lambda.min of minimum reflectivity that is separated in wavelength from the gain peak wavelength, preferably by about 5 to 30 nanometers. The optical amplifier is operated at a bias current greater than a stimulated emission threshold bias current of the device. The input optical signal has a wavelength at or near the wavelength .lambda.min of minimum reflectivity of the antireflection coatings. The optical amplifier has an electrical bandwidth on the order of 1 to 10 GHz.