Influence of the pump wavelength on the gain and phase recovery of quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

Abstract

We numerically investigate the influence of the pump-probe wavelength on the gain and phase recovery dynamics of quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). The temporal variations of the gain and phase recovery response are calculated at various pump-probe wavelengths, covering the emission wavelength of both the QD ground and excited states. The gain recovery becomes faster at the longer pump-probe wavelength due to the enlarged carrier escape time. The initial phase change turns from a negative to a positive value as the pump-probe wavelength becomes smaller, which is determined by the spectral position of the pump-probe wavelength in reference to the Gaussian-shaped inhomogeneous broadening. The calculated results agree with the previous experimental results measured by other experimental groups. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.