“…Since reflective semiconductor optical amplifier-based intensity modulators (RSOA-IMs) have a large number of salient advantages including colorlessness, cost-effectiveness, compactness, low power dissipation, large-scale monolithic integration capability, as well as highly desirable functionalities of simultaneous signal modulation and amplification [1]- [4], RSOA-IMs are widely considered as cost-effective intensity modulator candidates for cost-sensitive application scenarios such as optical network units (ONUs) in next-generation passive optical networks (PONs) [5]- [7]. Commercially available, low-cost RSOAs have, however, very limited 3-dB small-signal modulation bandwidths, and the RSOA-IMs also suffer from the intensity modulation-induced strong frequency chirp effect [8]- [10], which may cause deep system frequency response nulls to occur over the useful signal spectral regions in representative standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) PON systems based on intensity-modulation and direct-detection (IMDD) [10].…”