Self-consistent numerical modeling of gain and amplified spontaneous emission in semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract

A numerical simulation of Semiconductor Optical amplifiers is proposed, which self-consistently solves the vertical transport and the bidirectional propagation for both coherent signals and amplified spontaneous emission. A realistic account of taper sections is obtained in deriving the confinement factor in all component sections. Microscopic equations are used , as far as possible, for both gain and spontaneous emission rates. With few adjustable parameters we nevertheless obtain a good fit to experimental data which remains stable with geometry and active material changes.