Acoustooptic modulator using the Stark effect and stress-induced bandgap changes

An analysis of the semiconductor multiple-quantum-well (MQW) acoustooptic modulator is performed. The strain and electric-field components generated by surface acoustic waves (SAW's) in a multilayered semiconductor piezoelectric structure are presented. The effects of a SAW propagation on the modulator optical parameters are studied. Two kinds of SAW effects in the modulator structure are taken into account: the variation of the excitonic energies of the MQW due to strain and the companion electric field generated by the SAW is determined. The hole's effective mass change induced by the SAW is analyzed and included in the Schrodinger equation. The optical absorption coefficient spectra of the modulator as a function of the SAW power is presented. Experimental results concerning optical absorption variations of quantum-well structures produced by various SAW powers are shown.