Electro-absorptive and electro-optic quantum well modulators using surface acoustic wave

Wallace C. H. Choy; Bernard L. Weiss; E. Herbert Li

doi:10.1117/12.298224

12 January 1998 Electro-absorptive and electro-optic quantum well modulators using surface acoustic wave

Wallace C. H. Choy, Bernard L. Weiss, E. Herbert Li

Proceedings Volume 3278, Integrated Optic Devices II; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.298224
Event: Optoelectronics and High-Power Lasers and Applications, 1998, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The characteristics of Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs QW acousto- absorption and acousto-optic modulators using the interaction between surface acoustic wave (SAW) and quantum well (QW) optical waveguide structures are analyzed here theoretically. The QW structures are optimized by maximizing the optical confinement of modal field in the active region and the piezoelectric effect of SAW and QWs. The electric field induced by SAW reduces non-uniformly in depth, which limits in the development of high efficiency modulators, especially for devices with a large number of QWs in the active region. For devices with thin active regions, the QW structures are designed so that at the top surface strong SAW effects can be obtained while for the 25 periods structure, the QWs located at a depth of 2/3 SAW wavelength in order to obtain an uniform SAW induced electric field. The results show that the single and five QW devices are suitable for absorptive modulation and optical modulation respectively while the 25-QW modulators can shorten the modulation interaction length and thus increase modulation bandwidth. The effective index change of these devices are at least 10 times larger than the conventional surface acoustic wave devices. These result make the quantum-well modulators more attractive for the development of acousto- optic device applications.

Citation Download Citation

Wallace C. H. Choy, Bernard L. Weiss, and E. Herbert Li "Electro-absorptive and electro-optic quantum well modulators using surface acoustic wave", Proc. SPIE 3278, Integrated Optic Devices II, (12 January 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.298224

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