ROOM-TEMPERATURE ELECTROOPTIC EFFECT IN CDHGTE MULTIPLE-QUANTUM-WELL HETEROSTRUCTURES AT 1.5 MU-M

We present a study of the room temperature electromodulation propertie s of CdHgTe heterostructures as a base component for a photorefractive device operating at 1.5 mu m. We reach absorption modulation as high as 200%, in the near-gap transparent region of the spectrum, by applic ation of a reverse bias of the order of 100 kV/cm. We observe the tran sition from the Franz-Keldysh effect in 200 Angstrom wide wells to the quantum confined Stark effect in 90 Angstrom wells. The calculated di ffraction efficiency in a suitable photorefractive device would be of the order of 8 x 10(-4) in both cases. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.