Extending the direct laser modulation bandwidth by exploiting the photon-photon resonance: Modeling, simulations and experiments

The direct laser modulation bandwidth can be extended substantially by introducing a supplementary photon-photon resonance (PPR) at a higher frequency than the carrier-photon resonance (CPR). The paper presents a modified rate equation model that takes into account the PPR by treating the longitudinal confinement factor as a dynamic variable. The conditions required for obtaining a strong PPR and an enhancement of the small-signal modulation bandwidth are analyzed and experimental results confirming the model are presented. Since the small-signal modulation bandwidth may not be indicative of the large-signal modulation capability, particularly in case of a small-signal modulation response with substantial variations across the bandwidth, we have also analyzed the influence of the PPR-enhanced small-signal modulation response shape on the large-signal modulation capability as well as the methods that can be employed to flatten the small-signal modulation transfer function between the CPR and PPR.