Electro-optic and electro-absorptive modulations of AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well using surface acoustic wave

The surface acoustic wave produced electron absorptive and electro-optic modulation in AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well structures are theoretically analyzed. The quantum well structures are optimized by maximizing the optical confinement of the modal field in the active region and the piezoelectric effect of surface acoustic wave on the quantum wells. The effect of penetration depth of the surface acoustic wave on the number (1–25 periods) of quantum wells, serving as the active region, is being studied. For 1–5 period structures, the quantum wells are designed on the top surface so that a strong piezoelectric effect can be obtained. For the 25-period structure, the quantum wells locate at a depth of two-thirds the acoustic-wave wavelength in order to obtain a uniform surface acoustic-wave-induced electric field. The results show that the single and five quantum well devices are suitable for absorptive modulation and optical modulation, respectively, while a general advantage of the 25-period quantum well modulator can shorten the modulation interaction length and increase the modulation bandwidth. The effective index change of these devices are at least ten times larger than the conventional surface acoustic wave devices. These results make the surface acoustic wave quantum well modulators more attractive for the development of acousto-optic device applications.