Abstract
The ability to simultaneously amplify and detect an optical signal has led to a number of applications for semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA’s), including lossless signal tapping1 and photonic packet switching.2 Two-section (or split-contact) semiconductor amplifiers offer greater photodetector responsivity3 and additional flexibility for signal-processing and signal-modulation techniques4 than do single-contact SOA’s. However, the electrical frequency response of all SOA’s operating as detectors is limited by the carrier lifetime, which varies from a few gigahertz in quantum-well amplifiers to ≤1 GHz in bulk devices. This is a significant limitation in view of the increasingly high data rates carried by lightwave systems.
© 1993 Optical Society of America
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