Optical modulator

• US 8,492,863 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2010
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Yong-chul, Park, Yong-hwa, Park, Chang-soo, Lee, Yong-tak, Na, Byung-hoon, Park, Kwang-mo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lester, Evelyn A.
• Application Number:
  US12/938,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20110181936A1
• Time in Patent Office: 994 Days
• Field of Search: 257/428, 257/429, 257/431, 359/247, 359/248, 359261-263, 359315-318
• US Class Current: 257/431
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0155 modulating the optical absorption
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/017 Structures with periodic or quasi periodic potential variation, e.g. superlattices, quantum wells
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/218 using semi-conducting materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/307 Reflective grating, i.e. Bragg grating
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/12 spatial light modulator

Abstract

Optical modulator having wide bandwidth based on Fabry-Perot resonant reflection is disclosed. The optical modulator includes: a bottom Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) layer; a top DBR layer including at least one layer, and a modified layer; and an active layer disposed between bottom and top DBR layers, wherein the at least one layer includes at least one pair of a first refractive index layer having a first refractive index and a second refractive index layer having a second refractive index, the modified layer includes at least one pair of a third refractive index layer having a third refractive index and a fourth refractive index layer having a fourth refractive index, the third and the fourth refractive indexes being different, and at least one of the third and the fourth refractive index layers has a second optical thickness that is not λ/4 or that is not an odd multiple thereof.

Claims

1. An optical modulator comprising:

a bottom Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) layer;

a top DBR layer comprising at least one layer, and a modified layer; and

an active layer disposed between the bottom and the top DBR layers and comprising multiple quantum wells (MQW),

wherein the at least one layer comprises at least one pair of a first refractive index layer having a first refractive index and a second refractive index layer having a second refractive index, each of the first and the second refractive index layers having a first optical thickness of λ

/4 or an odd multiple thereof and the first and the second refractive indexes being different,

wherein the modified layer comprises at least one pair of a third refractive index layer having a third refractive index and a fourth refractive index layer having a fourth refractive index, the third and the fourth refractive indexes being different, and

wherein λ

is a center absorption wavelength in the active layer and at least one of the third and the fourth refractive index layers has a second optical thickness that is not λ

/4 or that is not an odd multiple thereof.

2. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the first and the third refractive index layers comprise a same material and the first and the second optical thicknesses are different.

3. The optical modulator of claim 2, wherein the same material comprises AlAs.

4. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the second and the fourth refractive index layers comprise a same material and the first and the second optical thicknesses are different.

5. The optical modulator of claim 4, wherein the same material comprises Al_xGa_1-xAs, x being an integer number.

6. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the first refractive index layer comprises a first refractive index material, and the third refractive index layer comprises a third refractive index material that is different from the first refractive index material.

7. The optical modulator of claim 6, wherein the first refractive index layer material comprises AlAs and the third refractive index layer material comprises Al_0.9Ga_0.1As.

8. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the second refractive index layer comprises a second refractive index layer material, and the fourth refractive index layer comprises a fourth refractive index layer material that is different from the second refractive index material.

9. The optical modulator of claim 8, wherein the second refractive index layer material comprises Al_0.5Ga_0.5As and the fourth refractive index layer material comprises Al_0.3Ga_0.7As.

10. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the at least one layer of the top DBR layer comprises a first layer and a second layer,

wherein the first layer is disposed on the modified layer and comprises at least one first pair of the first and the second refractive index layers, and the second layer is disposed below the modified layer and comprises at least one second pair of the first and the second refractive index layers.

11. The optical modulator of claim 10, wherein

the number of the at least one first pair is different from the number of the at least one second pair.

12. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the modified layer comprises a plurality of pairs of the third and fourth refractive index layers;

and

wherein the at least one layer is disposed on the modified layer and comprises a plurality of pairs of the first and the second refractive index layers.

13. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the active layer comprises at least two types of quantum well layers having different thicknesses.

14. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the active layer comprises a first MQW and a second MQW which are stacked, wherein the first MQW comprises a plurality of pairs of a first quantum well layer and a first barrier layer, the second MQW comprises a plurality of pairs of a second quantum well layer and a second barrier layer, and the first and the second quantum well layers have different thicknesses.

15. The optical modulator of claim 14, wherein the first and the second quantum well layers comprise a same material.

16. The optical modulator of claim 15, wherein the same material comprises GaAs.

17. The optical modulator of claim 13, wherein a total thickness of the active layer is substantially identical to an integer multiple of the center absorption wavelength.

18. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the active layer comprises a structure in which a pair of a first quantum well layer and a first barrier layer and a pair of a second quantum well layer and a second barrier layer are stacked, wherein the first and the second quantum well layers comprise a same material and have different thicknesses.

19. The optical modulator of claim 1, further comprising:

a first contact layer disposed below the bottom DBR layer;

a substrate disposed below the first contact layer; and

a second contact layer disposed on the top DBR layer.

20. The optical modulator of claim 19, further comprising an electrode formed on the second contact layer, wherein the electrode has a lattice shape.

21. The optical modulator of claim 19, wherein the first contact layer is partially formed on a surface of the substrate, and the bottom DBR layer, the active layer, the top DBR layer, and the second contact layer are partially formed on a surface of the first contact layer.

22. The optical modulator of claim 21, further comprising an insulating layer disposed on the substrate and the first contact layer, at two sides of the bottom DBR layer, the active layer, the top DBR layer, and the second contact layer.

23. The optical modulator of claim 22, further comprising a trench which exposes the first contact layer from one of the insulating layers at two sides of the bottom DBR layer, the active layer, the top DBR layer, and the second contact layer.

24. The optical modulator of claim 23, further comprising:

an electrode formed on the first contact layer in the trench; and

a metal wire extending along an inner wall of the trench and a surface of the insulating layer, to be connected to the electrode.

25. The optical modulator of claim 1, wherein the bottom DBR layer is more reflective than the top DBR layer.

26. An optical modulator device comprising the optical modulator of claim 1 as an optical modulator cell of a plurality of optical modulator cells, wherein the plurality of optical modulator cells are arranged in an array.

27. The optical modulator device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of optical modulator cells are separated from an adjacent optical modulator cell by a trench.

28. The optical modulator device of claim 26, further comprising a plurality of drivers correspondingly disposed for the plurality of optical modulator cells.

29. An optical modulator comprising:

an active layer comprising multiple quantum wells;

a first Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) layer disposed to one side of the active layer; and

a second DBR layer disposed to another side of the active layer, the second DBR layer being less reflective than the first DBR layer,

wherein the second DBR layer comprises;

a first layer comprising a plurality of first refractive index layers and a plurality of second refractive index layers, the plurality of first refractive index layers being alternatingly disposed with the plurality of second refractive index layers;

a modified layer comprising at least one pair of layers; and

a second layer comprising another plurality of the first refractive index layers and another plurality of second refractive index layers, the another plurality of first refractive index layers being alternatingly disposed with the another plurality of second refractive index layers; and

wherein λ

is a center absorption wavelength in the active layer,

wherein each of the plurality of first refractive index layers and each of the plurality of second refractive index layers has an optical thickness of λ

/4 or an odd multiple thereof, and

wherein the at least one pair of layers of the modified layer has an optical thickness that is not λ

/4 or that is not an odd multiple thereof.