Tunable infrared modulator and switch using Stark shift in step quantum wells

Author

Karunasiri, R.P.G. ; Mii, Y.J. ; Wang, Kamg L.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., California Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

11

Issue

5

fYear

1990

fDate

5/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

227

Lastpage

229

Abstract

A tunable infrared modulator and/or switch using intersubband Stark shift in a step quantum well is discussed. The device utilizes the intersubband absorption and the large change of separation between energy levels in the step quantum well under an applied electric field. The incident infrared beam on the device is either absorbed or transmitted depending on the energy separation of the levels, and thus the modulation can be achieved by adjusting the energy levels with an applied electric field. The extremely short lifetime of the intersubband transition makes this modulator suitable for application in high-speed long-wavelength optical communications.<>

Keywords

Stark effect; electro-optical devices; optical communication equipment; optical modulation; optical switches; Stark shift; applied electric field; energy levels; energy separation; high-speed long-wavelength optical communications; incident infrared beam; intersubband absorption; lifetime; step quantum wells; tunable infrared modulator; Electromagnetic wave absorption; Energy states; Optical attenuators; Optical fiber communication; Optical modulation; Resonance; Solid lasers; Stationary state; Switches; Ultraviolet sources;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Device Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0741-3106

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/55.55258

Filename

55258