Tunable Diode Laser

THIS PROGRAM ADDRESSES THE FEASIBILITY OF FABRICATING A NOVEL ELCTRICALLY TUNABLE SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE LASER. THE DEVICE WILL INCORPORATE PIEZOELECTRIC THIN FILMS FOR SIMPLE STRESS INDUCED TUNING BY MEANS OF THE APPLICATION OF AN ELECTRICAL CONTROL SIGNAL. THIS NOVEL APPROACH OFFERS THE ADVANTAGES OF A WIDE TUNING RANGE, ADAPTABILITY FOR USE WITH CONVENTIONAL LASER DIODE STRUCTURES, NO CHANGE IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CARRIERS, AND POTENTIAL FOR LARGE SCALE INTEGRATION. A STATE-OF-THE-ART PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (PE-CVD) APPROACH WILL BE UTILIZED IN THIS PROGRAM, SINCE THE LOW TEMPERATURE FORMATION OF COMPLEX OXIDES ON III-V COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTORS IS A PREREQUISITE FOR THE PROPOSED DEVICE FABRICATION PROCESS. THE PE-CVD APPROACH COMBINES PLASMA ACTIVATION AND ACTIVE OXIDATION FOR NON-EQUILIBRIUM, LOW TEMPERATURE COMPOUND FORMATION. BASED ON OUR PREVIOUS SUCCESSES WITH THE LOW TEMPERATURE DEPOSITION OF HIGH Tc CERAMIC SUPERCONDUCTING THIN FILMS AND PIEZOELECTRIC BaTiO3 THIN FILMS, PE-CVD IS PROMISING FOR THE PROPOSED DEVICE FABRICATION PROCESS. THE SAME DEVICE PRINCIPLE CAN BE READILY APPLIED TO THE FABRICATION OF OTHER TUNABLE OPTICAL DEVICES, SUCH AS LEDS, PHOTODETECTORS AND QUANTUM-WELL DEVICES. THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM WILL HAVE PROFOUND APPLICATIONS IN MILITARY AND OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.