Heterostructure Quantum Confined Stark Effect Electrooptic Modulators Operating at 938 nm

Electro-optics modulators are a necessary component of emerging optical fiber based local area interconnects. One type of modulator, suitable for use in optical interconnects, is an asymmetric Fabry-Perot reflection modulator (ARM). This type of an intensity modulator uses an electro-optic material as the spacer material to balance the normally unequal front and back mirror reflectances. The quantum confined Franz-Keldysh and Stark effects shift the absorption edge of semiconductor multiple quantum well (MQW) materials to longer wavelengths in the presence of an external electric field applied perpendicular to the MQW layers, thereby changing the reflectance of the etalon. The combined coherence effects of the etalon coupled with the quantum effects of the MQW materials result in a large modulation depth and a low insertion loss. P-I-N diode structures using an In Ha As/GaAs MQW structure as the intrinsic region were fabricated for the purpose of characterizing the electro-absorption associated with different applied electric fields. Quantum confined Franz- Keldysh and Stark shifts were observed for applied electric fields as large as 6.58 x 10000 V/cm. The resulting change in the absorption coefficient was found to be -3.7 x 1000 cm to the minus 1st power which is sufficient to design a high-speed ARM with a large modulation depth and a low insertion loss