Fundamentals of optical amplifiers

Fu Wang, Zhi Wang, Chongqing Wu Chongqing Wu +1 more

Based on the general mechanism of the coherent population oscillations, we propose the fundamental -harmonic fractional delay (FHFD) to evaluate the superluminal and slow light propagation in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). The sinusoidal and square-wave signals in SOA are investigated with the propagation equations. It is shown that the superluminal and slow light always accompany the signal distortion, and FHFD depends on the signal distortion as well as the incident power, the modulation frequency, and the optical gain.

Frank Vollmer, Deshui Yu

Ouri Karni, K. J. Kuchar, Amir Capua +6 more

We report on multi-wavelength pump-probe characterization of the fundamental gain dynamics in recently developed InAs/InP quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers. Recovery of the gain at various wavelengths following a powerful optical pump pulse, was recorded at different bias levels and different excitation powers. Wavelength dependencies of gain saturation depth, of the level to which the gain recovers and of the recovery rates were obtained. Unlike in quantum-dash amplifiers, these quantum-dots exhibit no instantaneous gain response, confirming their zero-dimensional nature.

Frank Vollmer, Deshui Yu

Malin Premaratne, Govind Prasad Agrawal

Over the past two decades, optical amplifiers have become of key importance in modern communications. In addition to this, the technology has applications in cutting-edge research such as biophotonics and lab-on-a-chip devices. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the fundamental concepts, theory and analytical techniques behind the modern optical amplifier technology. The book covers all major optical amplification schemes in conventional materials, including the Raman and parametric gain processes. The final chapter is devoted to optical gain in metamaterials, a topic that has been attracting considerable attention in recent years. The authors emphasize analytical insights to give a deeper, more intuitive understanding of various amplification schemes. The book assumes background knowledge of electrical engineering or applied physics, including exposure to electrodynamics and wave motion, and is ideal for graduate students and researchers in physics, optics, bio-optics and communications.