Theoretical analysis of a method for extracting the phase of a phase- amplitude modulated signal generated by a direct-modulated optical injection-locked semiconductor laser

The phase modulation (PM) and amplitude modulation (AM) of optical signals can be achieved using a direct-modulated (DM) optical injection-locked (OIL) semiconductor laser. We propose and theoretically analyze a simple method to extract the phase component of a PM signal produced by a DM-OIL semiconductor laser. The pure AM component of the combined PM–AM signal can be isolated by square-law detection in a photodetector and can then be used to compensate for the PM–AM signal based on an optical homodyne method. Using the AM compensation technique, we successfully developed a simple and cost-effective phase extraction method applicable to the PM–AM optical signal of a DM-OIL semiconductor laser. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.56.5.056112]