Quantum Dot Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers: Optical Pumping Compared with Electrical Pumping

A comprehensive study has been conducted on quantum dot reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers (QD-RSOAs) with optical pumps (OPs). Moreover, few studies have been completed on OP-based QD-RSOAs. A comparison is made between them and QD-RSOAs with electrical pumps (EPs) in this study. It is shown that the dynamical properties of the device can significantly develop in the optical pumping version. The optical properties are studied for both methods. Moreover, by solving the coupled differential rate and signal propagation equations, the operation of the device in the pulse mode is investigated. Finally, it is proven that OP QD-RSOAs can perform significantly better in applications such as fast all-optical signal processing and wavelength division multiplexing in passive optical networks.