Heterogeneous III-V-on-SOI EAM for High Speed Communication

Heterogeneous integration of III-V materials on Si photonics has been one of the leading technologies towards a compact, low cost, and fully integrated transceivers for optical communication and radio over fiber (RoF) applications. In view of further reduction in transceiver's cost and fabrication complexity, we proposed the use of a single directly-bonded epitaxial stack for several active components required on a transceiver circuit [1]. Given that different requirements of optical confinement in the multiple quantum well(MQW) is needed for optimal performance of each active component (laser, amplifier, modulator, photodiode) [1], [2], with careful design, a compact transmitter suitable for high speed communication can be realized. In this paper, we have demonstrated the characterization of an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) fabricated using the same active epitaxial stack as the laser and the semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) in a view for its use in high speed analog communication.