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The interdiffusion effect on the strain build-up and refractive index profile of lattice-matched InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple quantum wells is reported. Interdiffusion is achieved experimentally using low energy (360 keV) arsenic or phosphorus ion-implantation-induced disordering, followed by an annealing step. A model of the interdiffusion process has been developed to analyse the effect of different interdiffusion ratios on the waveguide's polarisation behaviour through the strain build-up and the refractive index profiles for the transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes. Polarisation-resolved photocurrent absorption measurements of quantum-well waveguide structures have shown that sufficiently high ion implantation doses can lead to the realisation of polarisation-insensitive waveguides at 1.55 µm wavelength operation. Comparison with the modelling results shows that the polarisation-dependent behaviour of the waveguides is best described by a higher interdiffusion ratio for the group V than for the group III atoms.
Inspec keywords: semiconductor quantum wells; integrated optics; optical waveguides; indium compounds; gallium arsenide; III-V semiconductors; optical fabrication; ion implantation; gallium compounds; light polarisation; optical communication equipment; chemical interdiffusion
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Subjects: Integrated optics; Semiconductor doping; Integrated optics; Optical waveguides; Optical fabrication, surface grinding; Optical communication devices, equipment and systems; Chemical interdiffusion in solids; Optical communication equipment; Optical properties of II-VI and III-V semiconductors (thin films, low-dimensional and nanoscale structures); Doping and implantation of impurities; Optical waveguides and couplers; Semiconductor superlattices, quantum wells and related structures