Modulation doped SiGe-Si MQW for low-voltage high-speed modulators at 1.3 μm

Author

Vonsovici, Adrian ; Vescan, Lili

Author_Institution

Sch. of Electron., Inf. Technol. & Math., Surrey Univ., Guildford, UK

Volume

4

Issue

6

fYear

1998

Firstpage

1011

Lastpage

1019

Abstract

We propose a new type of light modulator at 1.3 and 1.55 μm using a δ-modulation-doped SiGe-Si multiple-quantum-well quantum-well structure (δ-MDMQW) integrated in a low-loss silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide, The structure is embedded in the intrinsic region of a vertical p-i-n diode realized on SOI substrate. We present theoretical calculation of the effective index modulation determined by the variation of the confined hole concentration with an applied external field. A practical device is proposed and a calculation of optical modulation efficiency is presented. Estimation of on-off switching time based on evaluation of characteristic time of emission from localized levels in quantum wells and RC characteristics of the device are presented. This device presents the advantage of a broad optical bandwidth in comparison to the modulators based on quantum-defined Stark effect, low insertion loss, high-speed (above 1 GHz), and full compatibility with silicon technology

Keywords

Ge-Si alloys; electro-optical modulation; integrated optoelectronics; optical communication equipment; optical losses; p-i-n photodiodes; refractive index; semiconductor quantum wells; silicon; silicon-on-insulator; δ-MDMQW; δ-modulation-doped SiGe-Si multiple-quantum-well quantum-well structure; 1.3 mum; 1.55 mum; RC characteristics; SOI substrate; Si; SiGe-Si; applied external field; broad optical bandwidth; characteristic time; confined hole concentration; effective index modulation; full compatibility; high-speed; intrinsic region; light modulator; low insertion loss; low-loss Si-on-insulator waveguide; low-voltage high-speed modulators; modulation doped SiGe-Si MQW; on-off switching time; optical modulation efficiency; quantum-defined Stark effect; silicon technology; vertical p-i-n diode; Delta modulation; Epitaxial layers; High speed optical techniques; Optical modulation; Optical waveguide theory; Optical waveguides; P-i-n diodes; Quantum well devices; Silicon on insulator technology; Stimulated emission;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1077-260X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/2944.736101

Filename

736101