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We present the results of direct measurements of the effect of mechanically applied biaxial strain on Auger recombination rates in InGaAs quantum wells grown on InP. By mounting these structures on a flexible membrane, we applied strain mechanically rather than by changing the quantum well alloy fraction. Specifically, we employed time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy to probe the recombination dynamics in the degenerate carrier regime. From these measurements, we extract the non-degenerate cubic Auger coefficient C 3 0 . We found that applying 1.59% tensile biaxial strain increased the Auger C 3 0 coefficient by 325% in one of our samples. These results support the hypothesis that the mechanical strain induced by heteroepitaxy plays a direct role in mitigating Auger recombination in InP-based telecommunication-range lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a semiconductor-based optoelectronic switch based on active modulation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at lattice-matched indium gallium arsenide (In0.53Ga0.47As) degenerately doped pn++ junctions. The experimental device, which we refer to as a surface plasmon polariton diode (SPPD), is characterized electrically and optically, showing far-field reflectivity modulation for mid-IR wavelengths. Self-consistent electro-optic multiphysics simulations of the device’s electrical and electromagnetic response have been performed to estimate bias-dependent modulation and switching times. The numerical model shows a strong agreement with the experimental results, validating the claim of excitation and modulation of SPPs at the junction, thus potentially providing a new pathway toward fast optoelectronic devices.

We demonstrate electrical modulation of plasmonic interfaces in semiconductor p-n++ junctions fabricated from both III–V and Si materials. Junction diodes are grown/fabricated, consisting of degenerately doped n-type material and heavily doped p-type material, where the n++ semiconductor acts as a plasmonic material capable of supporting infrared propagating surface plasmon polaritons. Devices were characterized electrically and optically, and we achieved tuning of the reflectivity under applied bias with amplitude reaching 1.5% in mid-IR wavelengths. We developed a model of electrical carrier injection at the degenerately doped interface, which we used to model the bias-dependent optical properties of the system. A strong agreement between our model and experimental results is demonstrated. The presented devices offer the opportunity for electrical modulation of propagating plasmonic modes in an all-semiconductor system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]