Research On Theoretical Model And Numerical Simulations Of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers(SOAs) are playing a more and more important role in DWDM networks for his notable advantages which include: wide band of operation wavelength, small size, low driving power, high speed, big nonlinear coefficient, and convenient for integration, especially in SOA based functional modules, such as wavelength converters, optical logic devices, and optical gates.Modeling and simulation are critical tools for analyzing and designing of SOAs. Compared with experiments, simulation is more simple, convenient, fast, and inexpensive. In facts, simulations can provide basic guidelines for experiments, and experimental results can be used to validate the theoretical and numerical model used in the simulations.In this thesis, the theoretical model and numerical simulations of SOAs were studied systematically, which include the following aspects:1, The basic structures and operating principles of SOAs are described and discussed, and a theoretical model, a set of traveling-wave rate equations, has been derived for SOAs based on a random expanding of the optical fields within the cavity of the devices.2, An one-dimension numerical model for the analyzing of SOA static-state properties has been established by dividing the SOAs into many subsections and considering the full-band ASE fields. Then, the numerical model was successfully implemented using FORTRAN language. The distributions of optical signal fields, ASE fields, and injected carrier density along the cavity of the devices are calculated and analyzed. Meanwhile, the effects of various SOA parameters on the properties of the devices are simulated and characterized using the numerical program.3, A detailed field-based time-domain dynamic model was developed by numerically solving the traveling-wave rate equations in time and space domain. FORTRAN is again used as the programming language. Signal amplifications using SOAs are simulated and analyzed under different operating and device parameters. The effects of various parameters on the SOA performance under dynamic operations are discussed.4, Based on the time-domain dynamic model developed in this thesis, SOA based wavelength conversion based on the XGM effect in SOAs are studied numerically and experimentally, and the results are analyzed and discussed.