Nonreciprocal propagation of light without external magnetic fields in a semiconductor waveguide isolator with a MnAs layer

Abstract

A 1.5-μm, TM-mode waveguide optical isolator was developed for use in photonic integrated circuits. It consists of an InGaAlAs-based optical waveguide with a ferromagnetic MnAs layer and makes use of nonreciprocal propagation loss of light induced by the magnetized MnAs layer. With a large-remanence MnAs layer grown with the Mn-template epitaxy method, the isolator successfully showed an 8.7 dB/mm isolation ratio without external magnetic fields.