Role of plasma cooling, heating, and memory effects in subpicosecond pulse propagation in semiconductor amplifiers

Based on a microscopic theory of a two-band semiconductor light amplifier, we show that plasma heating, cooling, and ultrafast memory effects all act in concert to produce strong distortion of subpicosecond pulses propagating in semiconductor amplifiers. Plasma heating, spectral hole burning, and carrier density depletion are responsible for saturation of the gain seen by a propagating intense femtosecond pulse in the amplifier. Plasma cooling replenishes the carrier population on the trailing edge of the pulse, leading to pulse broadening as a consequence of gain regeneration. The inclusion of memory effects in the description of dephasing processes goes beyond the usual Markov assumption of constant dephasing rates; it significantly affects the dynamical pulse reshaping processes.