Optimization of multiple quantum well electroabsorption modulators

A novel and simple approach for optimization of a multiple quantum well electroabsorption waveguide modulator is presented. In our approach, all four of the modulator characteristic parameters (on-off ratio, insertion loss, bandwidth, and driving voltage) are included. Design examples for GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well modulators are presented. The accuracy of our model is confirmed by comparison between calculated and published experimental data.     

Electro-absorption and refraction in Fabry-Perot quantum well modulators: a general discussion

Fabry-Perot resonators have long been advocated to improve the limited contrast ratio of multiple quantum well optical modulators used in photonic switches based on self electrooptic effect devices (SEEDs) and in other array based optical interconnection schemes. Using data on field dependent GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well absorption and refraction, we have modelled the reflectivity, modulation depth and contrast ratio of resonant modulators. Our results are generally valid for any quantum well modulator and demonstrate 23the important role played by electro-refraction even in regions of strong absorption. Resonators give large contrast ratios but there are trade-offs in the maximum reflectivity change achievable with Fabry-Perot resonators compared to simple modulators. The model gives the optimum number of quantum wells and reflectivity values required to make a resonator at any wavelength for a given quantum well structure. Understanding the limits of Fabry-Perot quantum well modulator performance is important for their application in symmetric self electrooptic effectiveness for photonic switching where modulation and detection properties are both used and for optical interconnection systems.     

Monolithic integration of electroabsorption modulators and tunnel injection distributed feedback lasers using quantum well intermixing

Electroabsorption modulators combining Franz-Keldysh effect and quantum confined Stark effect have been monolithically integrated with tunnel-injection quantum-well distributed feedback lasers using a quantum well intermixing method.Superior characteristics such as extinction ratio and temperature insensitivity have been demonstrated at wide temperature ranges.     

Reflection-type two-wavelength quantum well modulators

A systematic way has been developed for cavity design of reflection-type two-wavelength modulators based on coupled cavity structures. By inserting a properly designed additional reflector between the two quantum well absorbing layers with different designed operating wavelengths, two modulator structures can be combined with different operating wavelengths in one device and they can be made to operate almost independently. In this paper, three types of two-wavelength cavity designs including the simple cavity, the balanced cavity, and the decoupled cavity, are described. Their merits and drawbacks in overall modulation performance are compared. The three designs have also been realized experimentally. All of the three devices show clearly independent two-wavelength operation and the measured characteristics agree with the theoretical predictions. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

GaAs multiple quantum well microresonator modulators grown on silicon substrates

We report new results on the modulation characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs asymmetric Fabry-Perot modulators grown on silicon substrates. We discuss factors affecting device performance and evaluate these by growing p-i-n quantum well diodes, and multilayer reflector stacks on silicon. Using data from these test structures we have designed an asymmetric microresonator modulator and achieve, experimentally, a 40% reflection change with only 5 V and a contrast ratio of 7.4 dB, also with 5 V.Formerly at:Philips Research Laboratories, Redhill, UK     

Application of electroabsorption modulators for high-speed transmission systems

To achieve ultra-high bit rate signal beyond existing ETDM technology optical time division multiplexing (OTDM) is been used. In this paper the various applications of electroabsorption modulators in transmitters and receivers in ultra-high speed OTDM-based transmission systems is reviewed. Results of single channel and DWDM fiber transmission experiments are presented.     

Issues in the realization of strained-layer quantum well optoelectronic devices

Ion-beam processing is the ideal complement to modern lattice-mismatched (strained-layer) heteroepitaxy for optoelectronic device fabrication. Bandstructure engineering of optoelectronic devices through the use of lattice strain is presented, and the effects of ion-beam processing on III–V strained-layer heteroepitaxial structures are summarized. Representative results from ion-implanted optoelectronic devices are presented to illustrate these principles.     

Integer quantum Hall effect in a PbTe quantum well

Transport measurements have been carried out on a 10 nm n-type PbTe/Pb_0.9Eu_0.1Te quantum well at millikelvin temperatures. The Hall and longitudinal resistances are measured in a Van der Pauw geometry under high magnetic fields up to 23 T. A robust signature of the integer quantum Hall effect is observed without any sign of parasitic parallel conduction. The unconventional sequence of filling factors associated with the integer quantum Hall effect is discussed in terms of the occupancy of multiple valleys.     

Penetration of a symmetric light pulse through a wide quantum well

The reflection, transmission, and absorption of a symmetric electromagnetic pulse whose carrier frequency is close to the frequency of the interband transition in a quantum well are calculated. The energy levels in the quantum well are assumed to be discrete, and one excited level is taken into account. Consideration is given to the case of a sufficiently wide quantum well when the pulse wavelength corresponding to the carrier frequency is comparable to the quantum well width and when allowance should be made for the dependence of the matrix element of the interband transition on the photon wave vector. The calculations are performed with due regard for the difference between the refractive indices of the material of the quantum well and the barrier at an arbitrary ratio of the reciprocal radiative to nonradiative lifetimes of the excited level of the electronic system. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of the spatial dispersion and the difference in the refractive indices most strongly affects the reflection of the electromagnetic pulse, because the reflection due to interband transitions in the quantum well is accompanied by an additional reflection from the quantum well boundaries. Compared to the previously considered model, the most radical changes in the reflection are observed in the case when the reciprocal nonradiative lifetime of the excited state is substantially longer than the reciprocal radiative lifetime.     

对称双势垒量子阱中自旋极化输运的时间特性

电子的隧穿时间是描述量子器件动态工作范围的重要指标. 本文考虑k³ Dresselhaus 自旋轨道耦合效应对系统哈密顿量的修正, 结合转移矩阵方法和龙格-库塔法来解含时薛定谔方程, 进而讨论了电子在非磁半导体对称双势垒结构中的透射系数及隧穿寿命等问题. 研究结果发现:由于k³ Dresselhaus 自旋轨道耦合效应使自旋简并消除, 并在时间域内得到了表达, 导致自旋向上和自旋向下电子的透射峰发生了自旋劈裂; 不同自旋取向的电子构建时间和隧穿寿命不同, 这是导致自旋极化的原因之一; 电子的自旋极化在时间上趋于稳定. 关键词： 自旋极化输运 透射系数 隧穿寿命 自旋极化率     

intersubband pumping of an : InP symmetric double quantum well terahertz laser

The feasibility of intersubband optical excitation of a terahertz (1–10 THz) or far-infrared (30–300 ) emitter/laser by a laser diode is investigated by means of envelope function/effective mass approximation and subband carrier lifetime calculations. The material system is employed in order to supply the necessary conduction band offset and the basic design is that of a 6-level symmetric double quantum well. This can simultaneously satisfy the criteria of an 800 meV intersubband absorption and a far-infrared emission. It is shown that these device designs can satisfy a necessary criterion for population inversion at room temperature. A scheme for improving the population ratio based on a 9-level triple quantum well is discussed.     

Nonvolatile gate effect in a ferroelectric-semiconductor quantum well

Field effect transistors with ferroelectric gates would make ideal rewritable nonvolatile memories were it not for the severe problems in integrating the ferroelectric oxide directly on the semiconductor channel. We propose a powerful way to avoid these problems using a gate material that is ferroelectric and semiconducting simultaneously. First, ferroelectricity in semiconductor (Cd,Zn)Te films is proven and studied using modified piezoforce scanning probe microscopy. Then, a rewritable field effect device is demonstrated by local poling of the (Cd,Zn)Te layer of a (Cd,Zn)Te/CdTe quantum well, provoking a reversible, nonvolatile change in the resistance of the 2D electron gas. The results point to a potential new family of nanoscale one-transistor memories.     

Change in the shape of a symmetric light pulse passing through a quantum well

A theory for the response of a 2D two-level system to irradiation by a symmetric light pulse is developed. Under certain conditions, such an electron system approximates an ideal solitary quantum well in a zero field or a strong magnetic field H perpendicular to the plane of the well. One of the energy levels is the ground state of the system, while the other is a discrete excited state with energy ?ω₀, which may be an exciton level for H=0 or any level in a strong magnetic field. It is assumed that the effect of other energy levels and the interaction of light with the lattice can be ignored. General formulas are derived for the time dependence of the dimensionless “coefficients” of the reflection ?(t), absorption A(t), and transmission ?(t) for a symmetric light pulse. It is shown that the ?(t), A(t), and ?(t) time dependences have singular points of three types. At points t ₀ of the first type, A(t ₀)=T(t ₀)=0 and total reflection takes place. It is shown that for γ_r?γ, where γ_r and γ are the radiative and nonradiative reciprocal lifetimes, respectively, for the upper energy level of the two-level system, the amplitude and shape of the transmitted pulse can change significantly under the resonance ω_l=ω₀. In the case of a long pulse, when γ_l<γ_r, the pulse is reflected almost completely. (The quantity γ_l characterizes the duration of the exciting pulse.) In the case of an intermediate pulse duration γ_l?γ_r, the reflection, absorption, and transmission are comparable in value and the shape of the transmitted pulse differs considerably from the shape of the exciting pulse: the transmitted pulse has two peaks due to the existence of the point t ₀ of total reflection, at which the transmission is zero. If the carrier frequency ω_l of light differs from the resonance frequency ω₀, the oscillating ?(t), A(t), and ?(t) time dependences are observed at the frequency Δω=ωl?ω₀. Oscillations can be observed most conveniently for Δω?γ_l. The position of the singular points of total absorption, reflection, and transparency is studied for the case when ω_l differs from the resonance frequency.     

High sensitivity Hall devices with AlSb/InAs quantum well structures

AlSb/InAs quantum well (QW) structures and InAs films on GaAs (001) substrates were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We investigated the dependence of electron mobility and two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) concentration on the thickness of an InAs channel. It is found that electron mobility as high as 19050 cm2·V-1·s-1 has been achieved for an InAs channel of 22.5 nm. The Hall devices with high sensitivity and good temperature stability were fabricated based on the AlSb/InAs QW structures. Their sensitivity is markedly superior to Hall devices of InAs films.     

Spectroscopy of persistent hole burning in the quantum dot-matrix system: Quantum-confined stark effect and electroabsorption

A theory of persistent spectral hole burning is developed. Within a simple, exactly solvable model (a cubic potential well with infinitely high walls in a uniform electric field), the energy spectrum and the rate of electron-hole pair generation are determined with due regard for the effect of the field induced in this case owing to the spatial separation of electrons and holes. The dependence of the energy spectrum on the field vector orientation relative to the symmetry axes of a quantum dot is studied. An expression describing the shape of the differential spectrum is derived.