CREATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF VERTICAL-CAVITY PHASE FLIP MODULATORS

The creation of vertical cavity phase flip modulators is demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally. These modulators rely on both the ability to make Fabry-Perot cavities which switch the dominant mir ror responsible for reflection and the use of excitons in a manner whi ch allows them to provide large absorption changes with zero parasitic refractive index changes. The current device provides a 180-degrees p hase change while only changing reflectivity from 65% to 63% with an a pplied bias of 13.5 V while using an active region only 5000 angstrom long. These devices can be placed into dense arrays and should have nu merous applications for stackable optical switching and logic, high-ef ficiency spatial light modulation, and, with appropriate optimization, low-reflectivity-change analog phase modulators.