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Urbach-edge-assisted electro-absorption for enhanced free-space optical modulation Hristovski, Ilija; Lesack, Nikolai; Herman, Luke; Holzman, Jonathan

Abstract

In this work, we introduce an electro-absorption (EA)-based retro-modulator for effective realization of free-space optical communications via passive downlinks. Demands for deep modulation and broad directionality in such links are met by its corner-cube assembly of EA-modulators. The EA-modulators use semi-insulating InP as its band edge absorption exhibits an Urbach tail near the 980-nm wavelength of the laser light. This enables Urbach-edge-assisted EA, which allows the field-induced absorption to be optimized via temperature. The theory, from a uniting of the Einstein model and Franz-Keldysh effect, and experiments, from a prototype, show good agreement with deep (greater than 15%) modulation depths. Such functionality can meet the key demands of emerging free-space optical communication links.

Item Metadata

Title
Urbach-edge-assisted electro-absorption for enhanced free-space optical modulation
Creator
Hristovski, Ilija; Lesack, Nikolai; Herman, Luke; Holzman, Jonathan
Publisher
Optics Letters
Date Issued
2020-04-20
Description
In this work, we introduce an electro-absorption (EA)-based retro-modulator for effective realization of free-space optical communications via passive downlinks. Demands for deep modulation and broad directionality in such links are met by its corner-cube assembly of EA-modulators. The EA-modulators use semi-insulating InP as its band edge absorption exhibits an Urbach tail near the 980-nm wavelength of the laser light. This enables Urbach-edge-assisted EA, which allows the field-induced absorption to be optimized via temperature. The theory, from a uniting of the Einstein model and Franz-Keldysh effect, and experiments, from a prototype, show good agreement with deep (greater than 15%) modulation depths. Such functionality can meet the key demands of emerging free-space optical communication links.
Subject
Urbach-edge-assisted electro-absorption; optical modulation
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-03-16
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0396382
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77632
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
Citation
I. R. Hristovski, N. I. Lesack, L. A. Herman, and J. F. Holzman, "Urbach-edge-assisted electro-absorption for enhanced free-space optical modulation," Optics Letters, vol. 45, pp. 2478-2481, 2020.
Publisher DOI
10.1364/OL.388915
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Optical Society of America
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International