Measurement of the carrier recovery time in SOA based on four-wave mixing on narrow-band ASE spectrum

Carrier recovery time is a key parameter that determines the performance of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). A measurement method of carrier recovery time in SOA based on a nearly degenerate four-wave mixing of narrow-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra is presented. The results show the carrier times are 50.2, 44.6, and 23.6 ps when the injected currents are 120, 180, and 240 mA, respectively, which are in agreement with the nominal values of the sample.