Effects of carrier transport on relative intensity noise and critique of K factor predictions of modulation response

The maximum possible intrinsic modulation bandwidth in semiconductor lasers is conventionally written in terms of the K factor. Although this is often sufficient in bulk lasers, it is usually not true in quantum well lasers where carrier transport can significantly affect the high speed properties. Analytical expressions are presented, which include the effects of carrier transport, for the modulation response and the relative intensity noise in quantum well lasers. It is shown that in the presence of significant transport effects, the K factor is not an accurate measure of the maximum possible intrinsic modulation bandwidth.