MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRO-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF ALXGA1-XN FOR INTEGRATED OPTIC DEVICES

WE PROPOSE A PROGRAM TO FABRICATE SINGLE MODE SYMMETRIC WAVEGUIDES IN ALXGA1-XN, AND TO MEASURE THE ELECTRO-OPTICAL PROPOERTIES OF THE MATERIAL SYSTEM. OUR PROGRAM IS SIGNIFICANT DUE TO THE POTENTIAL OF USING ALXGA1-XN WAVEGUIDES FOR UNIQUE ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICES OPERATING IN THEULTRAVIOLET AND VISIBLE PARTS OF THE SPECTRUM. WE SPECIFICALLY DESIRE TO FABRICATE SUCH A SOLID STATE LASER SCANNER UNDER A PHASE II PROGRAM. DUE TO ITS LARGE BANDGAP (3.6 TO 6.2 EV FOR X=0 TO 1) ALXGA1-XN IS POTENTIALLY A VERY USEFUL MATERIAL SYSTEM FOR FABRICATING SOLAR-BLIND UV DETECTORS AND UV-FILTERS. A SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR PROGRAM WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ELECTRICAL, OPTICAL AND ELECTRO-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THIS MATERIALS SYSTEM. THIS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT FROM DOD APPLICATIONS PERSPECTIVE. TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, OUR PROGRAM WILL BE THE FIRST EFFORT TO INCREASE THE SPHERE OF APPLICABILITY OF INTEGRATED OPTICS TO THE ULTRAVIOLET REGION. THE UV/VISIBLE ALXGA1-NN WAVEGUIDES WILL BE DEPOSITED USING LOW PRESSURE MOCVD AND CHARACTERIZED USING THE COMPUTER CONTROLLED TEST FACILITIES AT APA. MACH ZEHNDER INTERFEROMETERS WILL BE FORMED TO MEASURE THE ELECTRO-OPTIC COEFFICIENT OF ALXGA1-XN.