Slow and fast dynamics of gain and phase in a quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier

Gain and phase dynamics in InAs/GaAs quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers are investigated. It is shown that gain recovery is dominated by fast processes, whereas phase recovery is dominated by slow processes. Relative strengths and time constants of the underlying processes are measured. We find that operation at high bias currents optimizes the performance for nonlinear cross-gain signal processing if a low chirp is required.