Modeling of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers for Optical Access Networks

In this paper we present a wideband model of the polarization insensitive traveling-wave and reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers, with the active regions based on the bulk material and the multiple-quantum well structure. We characterize the devices in the steady-state and dynamic regime of operation, identify and discuss the effects of the material, geometrical and operational parameters on the devices' performance and provide the guidelines for performance maximization. We numerically demonstrate electro-optical remodulation from 10 Gbps downstream to 2.5 Gbps upstream signal using semiconductor optical amplifiers.