Measurement and Calculation of Carrier-Induced Changes of Refractive Index and Absorption in GaInAsP Near the Band Edge

Abstract

The carrier-induced refractive index change of a IIIV heterojunction is very large[1]. It is produced by bandfilling, band-gap shrinkage, and plasma dispersion. Optical switches utilizing this large index change have already been demonstrated[2,3]. At the photon energies near Eg, however, measurement is difficult due to absorption, so that the experimental verification has not been completely done[4] and the design of the carrier- induced optical devices is still difficult.