Dynamic Characterization of Semiconductor Lasers and Intensity Modulators

Sammanfattning: The research work presented in this thesis deals with characterization ofdynamics of active photonic devices that are based on semiconductormaterials. The thesis contains an introduction and a collection of publishedarticles in peer reviewed international journals and conferences.The introduction starts with the physical background and a review of thesemiconductor material properties which both affects the design andfabrication of the devices and determine their performance in applicationssuch as wavelength, optical power and attenuation, drive current andvoltage, temperature sensitivity and modulation bandwidth.The next chapter of the introduction is dedicated to various kinds ofsemiconductor lasers. It describes the physical principles, steady stateoperation and the dynamical response. The laser is essentially an opticalcavity consisting of a material with optical gain inbetween two reflectivemirrors. Special attention is given to the spectral shape of the mirrorreflectivity and its effect on the laser dynamics and how these effects canbe distinguished from those of the gain material.In order to improve dynamic performance, it is common that the laser,instead of being directly modulated by varying the drive current, isconnected to a separate modulator. The next chapter is therefore devotedto electroabsorption modulators for high speed intensity modulation andtheir integration to lasers. In order to fully take advantage of the highintrinsic modulation bandwidth of these devices it is important to havea good microwave design to avoid electrical parasitics. A segmented paddesign to achieve this is briefly described.The last part of the introduction covers measurements techniques that wereimplemented to experimentally investigate above devices. A description ofthe measurement methods, including practical hints and methods forevaluation of the measured results are provided.