Femtosecond index nonlinearities in InGaAsP optical amplifiers

We present the first femtosecond measurements of refractive index nonlinearities in diode laser amplifiers at 1.5 μm. Our results are obtained with a novel measurement technique, based on a time domain interferometer with heterodyne detection that allows the study of polarization anisotropy in the refractive index nonlinearities. We observe index changes due to carrier heating and stimulated transitions, as well as an instantaneous refractive index change similar to that observed in AlGaAs devices.

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