The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 28, 2003
Filed:
Oct. 12, 1999
Sol P. Dijaili, Moraga, CA (US);
Jeffrey D. Walker, El Cerrito, CA (US);
Genoa Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A multi-stage lasing semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) device amplifies an optical signal. The multi-stage SOA includes at least two SOA stages coupled in series. Each SOA stage includes a semiconductor gain medium and a laser cavity including the semiconductor gain medium. The medium is pumped above a lasing threshold for the laser cavity, which clamps the gain of the medium. An optical signal propagating through the medium is amplified by the gain-clamped medium. The SOA stages are characterized by a design parameter which varies from stage to stage. In a preferred embodiment, the design parameter includes a noise figure and a saturable power, with both parameters increasing as the optical signal propagates from stage to stage. As a result, the multi-stage SOA can achieve better noise performance and higher power outputs compared to comparable SOAs of constant noise figure and saturable power.