Effects of gain nonlinearities in an optically injected gain lever semiconductor laser

The effects of gain compression on the modulation dynamics of an optically injected gain lever semiconductor laser are studied. Calculations reveal that the gain compression is not necessarily a drawback affecting the laser dynamics. With a practical injection strength, a high gain lever effect and a moderate compression value allow us to theoretically predict a modulation bandwidth four times higher than the free-running one without a gain lever, which is of paramount importance for the development of directly modulated broadband optical sources compatible with short-reach communication links.