HIGH-POWER PERFORMANCE LIMITATION OF AN ESQW SEED IN AN AFP ETALON STRUCTURE

We report the effects of a high power light beam on the performance of a self electro-optic effect device, which employs an extremely shallo w quantum well in an asymmetric Fabry-Perot etalon structure. For a co ntinuously incident laser beam having 4 mW power and 7 mu m diameter, for example, we observed the change of reflectivity difference from 25 % to 13% and the change of contrast ratio from 16 to 5, both of which we attribute to the rise of local temperature induced by laser heating . Experimental measurements and a simplified thermal analysis show tha t the device degradation by ohmic heating at reverse bias of -5 V is m ore pronounced than that by the exciton absorption saturation at forwa rd bias.