STATIC AND DYNAMIC-RESPONSE OF MULTIPLE-QUANTUM-WELL VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED BISTABLE LASER-DIODES

We have simulated the static and dynamic characteristics of voltage-co ntrolled multiple-quantum-well (MQW) bistable laser diodes, To investi gate the time response of the saturable absorber under applied electri c field, we performed pump-probe measurements with picosecond resoluti on. The obtained differential transmission signals indicate the reduct ion of the carrier escape time for the saturable absorber with increas ing applied electric field. The field screening effect caused by spati al change of the carrier distribution is an important factor, as is ph ase space filling due to the photogenerated carriers. On the basis of the time response measurements, we have designed an MQW bistable laser by solving the modified rate equation including the recovery time res ponse of the absorption saturation. A saturable absorption region narr ower than 10 mu m is suitable for obtaining a low threshold device. To achieve low switching power and high switching speed, it is important to optimize the bias conditions and the MQW structures. We can expect a turnoff time of less than 10 ps, and a repetition rate of over 5 GH z from the calculations.