Theory and Application of Electrically Controlled Micro Resonator Based on Planar Optoelectronic Technology

Absorption modulators and rectangular micro-resonators as elements within a Planar Opto-Electronic Technology (POET) are investigated in this thesis. POET provides a platform for the integration of optical and electronic devices monolithically on a single substrate without re-growth. The advantages are higher performance, higher yield and lower cost. The thesis analyzes the blue shift of the absorption edge in POET devices and quantifies the larger absorption coefficient change therefore a larger index change that is available compared to existing modulators. When combined with rectangular micro resonators, smaller bias voltages and lower energy consumption result. The applications include analog optical links for microwave signals and the electronic control of optical delay for phased arrays and optical processing.;An absorption model based on relaxed k-selection rules for POET devices is first described in detail. This model determines the blue shift also the refractive index change in the quantum well as a function of the bias voltage with the effect of electric field on bandgap reduction included. Absorption spectra for sample devices are calculated using MATLAB and Agilent ADS and validated by comparison to measured data. The limit on the input optical power is discussed as well.;Optical waveguides in the POET structure are characterized by their optical properties such as optical modes, confinement factor, absorption loss, etc using Beam Propagation Method. Also, a self-consistent design approach for a fiber-to-waveguide spot size converter for POET optical devices is described. The optimized SSC enables ∼0.7dB insertion loss in an overall length of 500microm using standard 1microm lithography limits.;The rectangular micro resonator is analyzed using FDTD algorithm at a wavelength around 1microm. Optical intensity modulators are then designed to have compact footprint (4x28microm2), high speed (31GHz), high extinction ratio (10.7dB) with low energy consumption (2.2fJ/bit). Eye diagram characteristics show an extinction ratio of 5dB 30Gbit/s with Vpp=0.2V.;A tunable optical delay line is proposed for high frequency RF transmission using electronical control of effective resonator indices. Simulation results for five 4x28microm2 cascaded resonators with bias voltages <0.7V show a continuous tuning range of 7∼68ps, a ripple delay <1.5ps and a useable bandwidth of 39.3GHz.