High-speed modulation of semiconductor lasers

TLDR

High‑speed semiconductor lasers are evaluated for their direct modulation performance. The authors model the laser with a cascaded two‑port representation that separates electrical parasitics from intrinsic dynamics, enabling analysis of small‑signal intensity and frequency modulation as well as large‑signal switching transients and chirping. Device‑dependent limits on high‑speed performance are identified, and circuit modeling techniques are briefly reviewed.

Abstract

An overview is given of the direct modulation performance of high-speed semiconductor lasers. The high-speed response characteristics are described using a cascaded two-port model of the laser. This model separates the electrical parasitics from the intrinsic laser and enables these subsections to be considered separately. The presentation concentrates on the small-signal intensity modulation and frequency modulation responses, and the large-signal switching transients and chirping. Device-dependent limitations on high-speed performance are explored and circuit modeling techniques are briefly reviewed.