ANALYSIS OF ELECTRIC-FIELD EFFECT IN QUANTUM BOX STRUCTURE AND ITS APPLICATION TO LOW-LOSS INTERSECTIONAL TYPE OPTICAL SWITCH

The electric field induced refractive-index variation and the refractive-index variation-absorption loss variation ratio alpha-pBAR in a GaInAs/InP quantum box (QB) structure have been analyzed and applied to an intersectional type optical switch. The large index variation of a few percent with low absorption characteristics in QB structure, i.e., large alpha-pBAR ( > 10) in low fundamental absorption region, is found to be very useful to decrease the insertion loss at both the ON and OFF state of a QB intersectional type optical switch. It is shown that in such a switch the loss can be decreased to less than 1 dB. Moreover, the QB size dependence as well as fluctuations in QB size on QB-intersectional type optical switch was also discussed.