Effect of carrier heating on static linearity of MQW InGaAsP/InP lasers

Carrier heating can degrade the linearity of the light-current (L-I) characteristics of a laser diode, which is a critical parameter for devices used in cable television (CATV) systems. On the basis of experimental estimation of the carrier heating rate above threshold, we consider the contributions of different mechanisms through which carrier heating can cause static nonlinearity. Comparison with measured L-I characteristics shows that the contribution of carrier heating to L-I nonlinearity is considerably less than previously estimated. We conclude that the carrier heating effect is not a dominant mechanism in producing the intermodulation distortions.