Optical Modulation by Conducting Interfaces

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to modulate optical signals using a quantum well embedded in a waveguide, where the conductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas is controlled to achieve efficient optical modulation at 1.55um.

Contribution

It introduces a novel design for an optical modulator based on a conducting interface in a waveguide, with detailed modeling of the quantum well and the interface's optical properties.

Findings

The interface conductivity can be linearly controlled by electron and hole populations.

The proposed modulator has a compact length of approximately 60 micrometers.

Strong coupling between guided wave and conducting interface is achieved at 1.55um.

Abstract

We analyze the interaction of a propagating guided electromagnetic wave with a quantum well embedded in a dielectric slab waveguide. First, we design a quantum well based on InAlGaAs compounds with the transition energy of 0.8eV corresponding to a wavelength of 1.55um. By exploiting the envelope function approximation, we derive the eigenstates of electrons and holes and the transition dipole moments, through solution of the Luttinger Hamiltonian. Next, we calculate the electrical susceptibility of a three-level quantum system (as a model for the two-dimensional electron gas trapped in the waveguide), by using phenomenological optical Bloch equations. We show that the two-dimensional electron gas behaves as a conducting interface, whose conductivity can be modified by controlling the populations of electrons and holes the energy levels. Finally, we design a slab waveguide in which a guided wave with the wavelength of 1.55um experiences a strong coupling to the conducting interface. We calculate the propagation constant of the wave in the waveguide subject to the conducting interface, by exploiting the modified transfer matrix method, and establish it linear dependence on the interface conductivity. By presenting a method for controlling the populations of electrons and holes, we design a compact optical modulator with an overall length of around 60um.