Title :
Electrically controlled optical beam-steering/waveguiding in an active GaAs slab
Author :
Xuesong Dong ; Wa, P.L. ; Loehr, J.P. ; Kaspi, R.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Opt., Central Florida Univ., Orlando, FL, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. The effect of carrier induced refractive index change in semiconductor lasers has been studied extensively in the past decade. Owing to the plasma effect, a region that is highly populated with charged carriers experiences a lowering of its refractive index. It is known that when the carrier density in the active region is increased by 10/sup 18/ cm/sup -3/, the refractive index can be depressed by an order of 10/sup -3/. In this report we describe the use of this mechanism to achieve horizontal confinement in a planar GaAs-AlGaAs slab waveguide. Currents are injected via two adjacent contact stripes forming anti-guiding regions immediately underneath the stripes. Light coupled into the channel between the stripes remains confined in that region.
Keywords :
beam steering; carrier density; gallium arsenide; optical planar waveguides; refractive index; semiconductor lasers; semiconductor plasma; waveguide lasers; GaAs-AlGaAs; active GaAs slab; active region; adjacent contact stripes; anti-guiding regions; carrier density; carrier induced refractive index change; charged carriers; electrically controlled optical beam-steering; electrically controlled optical waveguiding; highly populated; horizontal confinement; light coupling; planar GaAs/AlGaAs slab waveguide; plasma effect; refractive index; semiconductor lasers; Charge carrier density; Laser transitions; Optical beams; Optical control; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Plasma density; Plasma waves; Refractive index; Semiconductor lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics, 1999. CLEO '99. Summaries of Papers Presented at the Conference on
Conference_Location :
Baltimore, MD, USA
Print_ISBN :
1-55752-595-1
DOI :
10.1109/CLEO.1999.834197
