Comparative Study on Large and Small Signal Theory for Intensity Modulation Response of Semiconductor Lasers Including Higher-Order Dispersion Terms

In this article, the comparison of large signal theory and small signal theory has been done with dispersive propagation of optical signal with IMDD (Intensity Modulation Direct Detection) systems for semiconductor lasers with higher-order dispersion terms. The expressions for an exact large signal theory and small signal theory including higher-order dispersion terms for propagation of an optical wave with sinusoidal amplitude and frequency modulation in a dispersive fiber have been derived. It is observed that small signal theory is more sensitive compared to large signal theory in terms of intensity modulation/direct detection systems. Also, it is reported that for large signal analysis the higher-order effects of dispersion can be ignored, whereas for small signal theory, the higher-order effects can be ignored for lower modulation frequencies only. The variation in the transfer function for various values of modulation indices are greater for small signal analysis than for large signal analysis. Also, as the intensity modulation index is increased, there is a decrease in the value of transfer function. The large signal model approximates the small signal model for lower values of the intensity modulation index.