Proposal for $Q$-Modulated Semiconductor Laser

A novel structure and mechanism for high-speed modulation of semiconductor lasers are proposed and analyzed. The modulator consists of an antiresonant cavity acting as a rear reflector of the laser. The change of the absorption coefficient in the modulator results in a change in the reflectivity of the rear reflector, and consequently the Q-factor, the lasing threshold, and the output power. An implementation structure and numerical results for a Q-modulated distributed feedback laser are presented. The monolithically integrated Q-modulated laser has potential advantages of high speed, low wavelength chirp, high extinction ratio, and high power efficiency