EVALUATION OF THE TOLERANCE OF ASYMMETRIC FABRY-PEROT MODULATORS WITHRESPECT TO REALISTIC OPERATING-CONDITIONS

This paper is concerned with asymmetric Fabry-Perot modulators (AFPM's ) that use the electroabsorptive effect iii GaAs-AlGaAs multiple quant um wells (MQW) to yield optical modulation, Although these devices may attain excellent peak-performance characteristics, their resonant nat ure makes them susceptible to variations in manufacture and to the ope rational conditions and this will ultimately limit their actual practi cal implementation, We examine in detail the tolerance of an AFPM to c oncurrent fluctuations of the main parameters that affect the performa nce, and evaluate the limitations of the current state-of-the-art. Thu s we develop a procedure by which the overall tolerance of resonant st ructures may be realistically calculated, and identify a parameter of merit that enables an optimization in that respect, A number of ways t o minimize the effect on the final performance are also addressed.