SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIER, AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND INTEGRATED OPTICAL NODE USING THE AMPLIFIER

摘要

PURPOSE: To provide a semiconductor optical amplifier, in which the polarization dependency of an amplification factor as the defect of one-dimensional quantum well structure is eliminated while being given the advantage of the structure, and to realize an optical communication system or network using said optical amplifier and an integrated type optical node including said system or network. ;CONSTITUTION: An optical amplifier has semiconductor laser structure and imparting gains to input light 10 from the outside, an active layer 4 having one-dimensional quantum well structure confining carriers in specific one direction is formed, and the direction of quantization by a quantum well in the active layer 4 is set properly so that optical gains are given uniformly to guided modes guiding waves in the amplifier and having the different directions of polarization. The polarization non-dependency type optical amplifier is used excellently for an optical communication system or network, etc., is also proper to modularization because an optical component on the outside, etc., are hardly employed, and is also incorporated preferably into an integrated type optical node.;COPYRIGHT: (C)1993,JPO&Japio