Modeling reflective bistability in vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract

The characteristics of optical bistability in a vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (VCSOA) operated in reflection are reported. The dependences of the optical bistability in VCSOAs on the initial phase detuning and on the applied bias current are analyzed. The optical bistability is also studied for different numbers of superimposed periods in the top distributed bragg reflector (DBR) that conform the internal cavity of the device. The appearance of the X-bistable and the clockwise bistable loops is predicted theoretically in a VCSOA operated in reflection for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, it is also predicted that the control of the VCSOA's top reflectivity by the addition of new superimposed periods in its top DBR reduces by one order of magnitude the input power needed for the assessment of the X- and the clockwise bistable loop, compared to that required in in-plane semiconductor optical amplifiers. These results, added to the ease of fabricating two-dimensional arrays of this kind of device could be useful for the development of new optical logic or optical signal regeneration devices

Two-wavelength switching with a distributed-feedback semiconductor optical amplifier (DFBSOA)

“…Under external optical power injection, owing to the change in the refractive index and the saturation of gain, the resonant cavity wavelength of the laser amplifier moves towards longer wavelengths depending on the amount of the injected power, and exceeding a threshold value the optical bistability can be observed [17,18]. In the past, the dispersive optical bistability has been studied in FPSLAs [17][18][19][20][21] in DFBSOAs [22][23][24] and more recently in vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) [25,26]. The optical bistability has been analysed when the amplifier is operated either in transmission or in reflection, and the differences in behaviour for each mode of operation have been determined [21,27].…”

An analytical study on bistability of Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifiers

“…Here more attention should be paid to the fact that the bistability in SOA occurs at the long wavelength side of the cavity resonance wavelength, as pointed out by aforementioned literatures [3,6]. Therefore, it can be inferred that in the region that bistability occurs the phase detuning factor ϕ is negative.…”

“…In [3], the authors presented a commonly-used model for investigating the bistability in SOAs. By use of this model, the static and dynamic bistable characteristics in different types of SOAs have been investigated substantially [3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, these studies have been performed either numerically or experimentally.…”

Optical bistable devices as sensing elements

“…In this case sensor applications on optical communications may not be very useful, but for optical computing the wavelength it is not that much important or in industrial environment where the wavelength used is not that critical even using optical fibers to transmit signal from sensors to process unit or centre. Some result has been reported on [17].…”