Vertical-cavity amplifying modulator at 1.3 μm

The modulation/switching properties of a vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier operating at 1.3 μm wavelength are investigated. The device was optically pumped and operated in reflection mode. A 150-mV (100 mA) modulation of the drive to the pump source produced a 7-dB modulation of the pump power, which produced a 35-dB modulation in the output signal. The maximum extinction ratio was 35 dB, and limited by device heating. Frequency response measurements revealed a modulation bandwidth of 1.8 GHz when the amplifier was saturated. This enabled 2.5-Gb/s modulation of a -10 dBm input signal with 5.5-dB fiber-to-fiber gain.