Modelling of a Twin- Ridge Optical Amplifier Switch

Modelling of a Twin-ridge waveguide optical amplifier switch is reported here. In this work, various important electrical and optical phenomenon were identified and its models were incorporated into the software package. For the validation the structural, electrical, optical and material parameters of the device fabricated at BT laboratories were used. The Super Mode theory was used in the modelling. The Finite Difference scheme was used to discretise the equations and the discretised equation was then applied to a mesh structure of the device. A combination of analytical and numerical methods were used in the solution process of the various equations. Newton-Raphson and relaxation methods were used to get a convergence to required accuracy.
The current spreading and diffusion effects were considered and current density and carrier density distribution were investigated. The effects of above mentioned design parameters on these distributions were analysed. The variation of optical gain, effective refractive index, modal properties and Through/Cross gain using different design parameters and operating condition were considered. Finally, the performance of the device as a switch in terms of various design parameters in different environments were assessed.
The simulated results were compared with measured results and found to have a good agreement.