High saturation power 1.3-μm MQW electroabsorption waveguide modulators on GaAs substrates

An analog InGaAs-InAlAs multiple-quantum-well electroabsorption waveguide modulator operating at 1.32-μm wavelength has been designed, fabricated, and characterized for the first time on a GaAs substrate. A typical 3-μm-wide 115-μm-long device exhibits a high optical saturation power in excess of 17 mW and a 3-dB electrical bandwidth of 20 GHz. An equivalent half-wave voltage V/sub /spl pi// of 2.8 V has also been achieved.