Transmission of light pulses by a two-component semiconductor medium

An investigation was made of the properties of a two-component semiconductor (GaAs) medium and, specifically, of its transmission characteristics. It was found that the absorption coefficient was a nonlinear function of the power entering the medium. The "bleaching" theshold was determined. The spectral characteristics of the emission of a GaAs laser and of a GaAs amplifier–absorber system were determined. An experimental study was made of the reduction of the duration of the pulses transmitted by the amplifier–absorber system. Under traveling-wave conditions, the light pulses were compressed by a factor of up to 3 (down to 1 nsec). The experimental results were in agreement with the theoretical calculations.