Fundamental and harmonic response voltages of a sinusoidally current-modulated ideal semiconductor laser

Abstract

It appears that derivative techniques will become quite useful in the characterization of semiconductor lasers. This paper clarifies the signal responses expected with these techniques by calculating the fundamental and second‐harmonic voltages which would be observed in the case of an ideal laser driven with a sinusoidally modulated current. The previously untreated nonanalytic lasing‐threshold region is explicitly included and the results are exact for any modulation amplitude. The harmonic voltages are then related to the first and second voltage derivatives and to the parameters characterizing (Al,Ga)As double‐heterostructure lasers.