To find the amplified optical signal (AOS), we injected light sweeping the TL wavelength (λ

inj) from 1,266 to 1,310 nm with a 7-mA current bias. Figure 4 shows results for injection at λ inj =1,279 nm only. We could not investigate the second resonance peak λ R2 because of the wavelength limit of the TL. In Figure 4a,b,c,d, the results for ASE - ASE0, AOS + ASE, AOS + ASE - ASE0, and finally AOS - ASE0spectra are shown, respectively. Figure 4 Results of various power spectra for λ inj = 1,279 nm. (a) ASE - ASE0level, (b) AOS + ASE, (c) AOS + ASE - ASE0, and (d) AOS - ASE0 power spectra. As the gain is small, the selleck kinase inhibitor amplified signal cannot be selleck chemicals llc easily discerned in Figure 4d. Hence, the gain was calculated using the simple relation (1) for each wavelength after obtaining AOS and ASE data. Results are shown as a function of the injected wavelength in Figure 5 for a specific laser power (P inj) of 2.25 nW. A maximum

gain of 3 dB with a very broad peak is observed at the maximum ASE wavelength of 1,288.5 nm. In the study, measured signal levels are very near to limits of the OSA; therefore, larger bandwidth wavelength values are used, which can be the reason of the broadness of the gain peak. Figure 5 Gain versus injected laser wavelength with P inj = 2.25 nW. Having verified that the gain peak corresponds to the ASE peak wavelength, we investigated the P inj dependence by varying it from 1.5 nW to a few milliwatts KU55933 for the single wavelength of 1,288.5 nm. Results are presented for both samples with and without confinement aperture in Figure 6 for power values below 10 nW. For injected laser powers

over 5 nW, the gain falls rapidly. At the lowest injected power, the sample Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase with confinement aperture exhibits 10 dB of gain, which is observed near the maximum ASE wavelength. For the investigated injected power range, the sample with the confinement aperture showed a higher gain because of the better carrier and light confinement in the VCSOA. Figure 6 Power-dependent gain for the samples with and without confinement aperture. Conclusions In this paper, we report the observation of gain in an electrically driven dilute nitride VCSOA device operated at 1.3-μm in reflection mode. Two different types of samples with and without confinement aperture are investigated. The ASE power peak is found to be at 1,288.5 nm with additional modes, which are caused by the length of the cavity. Optical gain is found to occur at low optical injection values. Above 5 nW of optical injection, the gain is found to fall rapidly. The maximum observed optical gain is observed at 1,288.5 nm at room temperature. The maximum observed optical gain at 7-mA current at room temperature is around 10 and 6 dB for samples with and without confinement aperture, respectively. It is important to mention that despite the small gain, the device is very promising because it requires very small currents compared with in-plane SOAs.