High Power Electroabsorption Waveguide Device

We demonstrate here a dual function electroabsorption waveguide device that operates as a modulator in the receiving mode and a detector in the transmitting mode in the case of antenna remoting application. Both electroabsorption modulator (EAM) and photodetector (PD) are known to saturate at high optical inputs as a result of space-charge carrier screening in the EAM modulating or PD absorbing depletion region as well as from the inadequate thermal power dissipation. Our device is designed to operate at high levels of incident input optical power. In the photodetector mode it sustained 590 mW of optical input power and generated 222 mA of output current. To our knowledge it is the highest current demonstrated for a single mode waveguide photodetector