Novel optoelectronic signal processing via the combination of SAW and semiconductor heterostructures

The combination of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and the superior electrical and optical properties of band-gap engineered semiconductor layer systems yields a completely new and promising approach toward another generation of acoustoelectric and optoelectronic devices. The propagating potential modulations accompanying a SAW on a piezoelectric semiconductor heterostructure can be exploited to alter the optical properties of an optoelectronic structure in many ways and over a wide range. We demonstrate the SAW-induced separation, storage and transport of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Various schemes to release the carriers in form of a time delayed light signal are demonstrated and discussed. We present some basic structures and applications