Electro absorption optical modulators
AssigneeNorthern Telecom Limited
InventorsGeorge H. B. Thompson, Igor K. Czajknwski, Mark A. Gibbon
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Abstract
The saturation effects observed in an MQW electro-absorption modulator are reduced by modifying the composition of the MQW structure so that the barrier layers, that are interleaved with the quantum well layers, are in tension.
Claims12
An electro-absorption optical modulator having a substrate of a first composition material supporting a set of epitaxially grown layers defining a p-i-n architecture that includes a multiquantum well structure comprising a plurality of quantum well layers of a second composition material, which quantum well layers are interleaved with barrier layers of a third composition material, wherein the barrier layers are thick enough to preclude any substantial band structure interaction between adjacent quantum well layers, and wherein the third composition material has a smaller unstrained lattice constant than that of the first composition material, whereby the barrier layers are put in tensile strain.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.