InGaAs-InP P-I (MQW)-N surface-normal electroabsorption modulators exhibiting better than 8:1 contrast ratio for 1.55-μm applications grown by gas-source MBE

We report growth of In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/ As-InP multiple quantum well (MQW) modulators operating at 1.55 μm for fiber-to-the-home applications. By employing a 200-period InGaAs-InP MQW stack in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n structure and working in reflection, we have been able to realize surface-normal modulator devices that exhibit better than an 8:1 contrast ratio. This is the highest contrast ratio reported to date for this type of device working at this wavelength.