Review of the dynamic characteristics of AlGaInAs/InP microlasers subject to optical injection

Abstract

Semiconductor lasers subject to optical injection exhibit many nonlinear dynamic behaviors that can be applied to enhance the modulation speed and generate a microwave signal. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of AlGaInAs/InP microdisk lasers subject to optical injection are investigated numerically and experimentally. The different dynamic states and bifurcation and stability diagrams are simulated using rate equations, and a greatly enhanced modulation bandwidth is expected based on small-signal analysis of microlasers in the injection locking state. Four-wave mixing, period-one and period-two oscillations, and injection locking states are demonstrated experimentally from the lasing spectra and photonic generation microwaves for a microdisk laser subject to optical injection at different detuning frequencies, and enhancement of the modulation bandwidth is realized for the optical injection locking state. Furthermore, lownoise photonically generated microwaves are obtained for microdisk lasers subject to optical injection and optoelectronic feedback, with the beating signal obtained from a high-speed photodetector being applied to the microdisk laser as sideband injection locking is realized in the period-one state. In addition to external optical injection, dynamic optical injection behaviors are realized for integrated twin-microdisk lasers with mutually internal optical injection, similar to semiconductor microdisk lasers subject to external optical injection. As well as obtaining microwaves by light beating at a high-speed photodetector, microwave signals are obtained from the electrode of a square microlaser subject to optical injection related to carrier density oscillation, with the microwave power versus frequency being in good agreement with the smallsignal modulation response curve. It is expected that low-noise tunable microwave signals and enhanced modulation speed microlasers will be obtained from photonic integrated circuits, with the microdisk lasers subject to internal optical injection.

Carrier Dynamic Investigations of AlGaInAs Quantum Well Revealed by Temperature-Dependent Time-Resolved Photoluminescence

“…The dynamic characteristics of AlGaInAs/InP microlasers subject to optical injection were reviewed by Y.Z. Huang, et al [ 13 ]. PL decay of the thermal-treated AlGaInAs QW demonstrated that the effect of thermal process had a strong influence on the relaxation time of excitated carriers [ 14 ].…”