INTEGRATED PHOTONICS: GaAs modulator is first POET alternative to Si photonics

摘要

Scientists and engineers from OPEL Technologies affiliate ODIS Inc. (Shelton, CT) and its research and development center located at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT) have developed a high-speed, low-power-consumption gallium arsenide (GaAs)- and aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs)-based optical modulator as part of their Planar Optoelectronic Technology (POET) semiconductor integrated photonics platform. Unlike the idea of an end-to-end (laser source to detector) integrated architecture using all-silicon photonic devices and silicon optical interconnects, POET aims for the monolithic integration of III-V semiconductor optical and electronic devices on a single (IC) chip. Modulator development was partially funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for a POET development contract between ODIS and BAE Systems Reed Microelectronics Center (Nashua, NH).