Vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers: comparison of Fabry-Perot and rate equation approaches

Accurate calculation of gain saturation properties of vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) relies on correct calculation of the average photon density in the amplifier. The most popular methods to study optical amplifiers are based on Fabry-Perot and rate equation approaches. However, they are known to give significantly different results. This paper shows that using the general Poynting theorem, it is possible to reconciliate the two methods by reconsidering the calculation of the mirror losses in the rate equation approach.