Intermodulation distortion in a directly modulated semiconductor injection laser

A most important quantity in high-frequency analog transmission is the intermodulation distortion product. Experimental studies of the third order intermodulation distortion products in the modulation response of high-speed semiconductor lasers give very low values (< −60 dB) at low frequencies, an increase at a rate of 40 dB/dec as the modulation frequency is increased, and a leveling off at one-half of the relaxation oscillation resonance frequency. These experimental results can be well explained by a theory based on a perturbative analysis of laser dynamics.