Abstract
We report the clear observation and characterization of room-temperature resonant tunneling in thin-barrier (35-Å) GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structures (containing as many as 100 quantum wells) and discuss the effects on electroabsorption modulators. The characteristics of similar MQW devices with both thick (60-Å) and thin (35-Å) quantum-well barriers are studied and compared experimentally and found to be similar, except near the thin-barrier resonant-tunneling field. We present data suggesting a novel exploitation of resonant tunneling for high-power modulators by aligning the resonant-tunneling field with the appropriate wavelength for high absorption. Data from an asymmetric Fabry–Perot electroabsorption modulator are also presented. We also discuss the implications of resonant tunneling on optically bistable self-electro-optic effect devices.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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