Design and analysis of MEMS tunable vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers

We present revised widely-tunable vertical-cavity SOAs exhibiting a reduced tuning voltage and an increased wavelength tuning range. Additionally, detailed theoretical models have been developed and are shown to be in good agreement with experimental observations.

I. Introduction

Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are an attractive alternative to erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) for use in optical communication systems such as metro-area networks and fiber to the home. Conventional in-plane SOAs suffer from poor coupling efficiency to optical fiber, are typically sensitive to polarization, and are not yet price competitive with existing fiber amplifiers. In contrast with inplane devices, the surface normal operation of vertical-cavity SOAs (VCSOAs) gives rise to a number of advantages including a high coupling efficiency to optical fiber, polarization independent gain, decreased power consumption, and the potential to fabricate two-dimensional arrays. Additionally. the vertical-cavity geometry allows for on wafer testing, significantly reducing the manufacturing costs.