Ge/SiGe asymmetric Fabry-Perot quantum well electroabsorption modulators.

We demonstrate vertical-incidence electroabsorption modulators for free-space optical interconnects. The devices operate via the quantum-confined Stark effect in Ge/SiGe quantum wells grown on silicon substrates by reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition. The strong electroabsorption contrast enables use of a moderate-Q asymmetric Fabry-Perot resonant cavity, formed using a film transfer process, which allows for operation over a wide optical bandwidth without thermal tuning.

Measurement and modeling of ultrafast carrier dynamics and transport in germanium/silicon-germanium quantum wells.

We measure the intervalley scattering time of electrons in the conduction band of Ge quantum wells from the direct Γ valley to the indirect L valley to be ~185 fs using a pump-probe setup at 1570 nm. We relate this to the width of the exciton peak seen in the absorption spectra of this material, and show that these quantum wells could be used as a fast saturable absorber with a saturation fluence between 0.11 and 0.