OPTOELECTRONICS

DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT 2
ECE 1007
PRAMIT PAUL
17BEE0345
OPTOELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND THEIR FEATURES

ABSTRACT
Active and passive optical components like transmitters, receivers, amplifiers,
splitters, couplers, absorbers, wavelength division multiplexers or demultiplexres,
tunable and fixed filters, routers, switches, wavelength converters, attenuators,
isolators, circulators polarizer, modulators are the devices that emit, transport,
amplify, switch, route or detect optical signals and in turn constitute the building
blocks for optical networking equipment and optical links. Optical communication
systems based on both fiber optics and free-space are the leading force in the
communication technologies. Material as well as crystal growth and device
fabrication technology presents the great opportunity to exploit the optical
properties of the components. The quaternary compound semiconductor like
InGaAsP/InP is one of the basic materials ideally suited for the 1300 nm or 1550
nm fiber windows. As transmitter device, the double channel buried
heterostructure laser is being used for bit rates upto 2.4 Gbit/s. Semi-insulated
buried heterostructures laser is designed for high-speed operation (>10 Gbit/s).
The semiconductor optical amplifier can perform fast phase and intensity
modulation. For receiving purpose, PINs are very high-speed detectors for digital
use upto more than 20 Gbit/s. For photonic switching, distributed Bragg reflector
laser based wavelength converter is used. High radiance and high speed LEDs find
application to high-bit rate PCM optical communication. Optoelectronic
components are being used in the satellite optical communication systems,
terrestrial atmospheric optical communication lines and underwater optical
communication systems focuses the futuristic approach in the filed of optical
communication. In this review paper optoelectronic components are discussed
with reference to communication in a wide spectrum.
 INTRODUCTION
In optical communication system light sources or lasers convert electrical data
streams into the optical domain and detectors convert optical signals back to
electronics. These basic functions accommodates of all kinds of fiber based optical
transmission and distribution system. With the invention of GaAs injection laser in
1962 and the realization of low-loss optical fibers in 1970, optoelectronics steps
into the information age. Optoelectronics or photonic is concerned with the use
of photon to work with or to replace electrons in certain communication,
computer or control applications traditionally carried out by electronics. There
are two basic perspectives of optoelectronics: optoelectronic is basically
concerned with an integration of electronics and optics where the functionality
could not be materialized electrons and electromagnetic waves separated. The
other perspective is that optoelectronics is concerned with linear and non-liner
optical implementation. Quantum effects in photonic devices and nanofabrication
technology widen the scope of high-speed communication and wireless
networking.

OPTOELCTRONIC COMPONENTS

1.LASER
LASER, stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission and Radiation, is a
semiconductor device that serves as a modulatable light source for optical
communication system. Early lasers were designed to operate at fixed wavelength
typically 1300 nm and 1550 nm. The quaternary compound semiconductor
InGaAs/InP in the basic material ideally suited for the above wavelength in fiber
windows. For special purposes, the new compound semiconductor InGaAlAsInP is
used in addition for highly advanced crystal growth technologies such as GSMBE
(Gas Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy) and LP – MOVPE (Low Pressure Metal
Organic Vapour Phase epitaxy), the required basic technology precision is
extremely high which is essential for device fabrication.
Newer laser used in Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Systems is tunable,
working in a specific range of wavelengths, which are divided into channels.
Widely tunable semiconductor laser with three branch having Y shape is
dominating in multiplexing process.
Using a multiple quantum well active region, these lasers show a tuning range of
45 nm (5.6 T Hz) and a side mode suppression of 25 dB, with potential access to
120 frequency channels. Such lasers appear promising for multichannel
wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical networks .Y laser could be used as
a wavelength-processing device. First experiments of operation as wavelength
processing device reports that either a data stream transforms from short
wavelength fiber windows (850 nm or 1300 nm) to long wavelength (1550 nm) or
with a 6 -8 nm wavelength conversions within the 1550 nm range including red
and blue shift. Y laser finds application in optically triggered wavelength
conversion. Tunable wavelength conversion is required for optical wavelength
division switching networks. In contrast to the operation as spatial switch, the Y
coupled cavity lasers could be operated above its laser threshold, emitting an
interferometric single mode line at the output ports as long as no external light is
injected. Future evolutions of this device may deviate from the active waveguide
structure with 4 electrical segments and also standard laser fabrication
technologies other than SIBH technology might be applied to exploit fully the
device principle for yielding better performance. The semi-insulated buried
heterostructures (SIBH) laser is designed for high-speed operation (10 Gbit/s)
without compromising applicability at lower bit rates. Instead of current blocking
pn junctions or proton bombardment, the SIBH laser structure uses semi-
insulating InP grown by LP-MOVPE. This technology allows for very low chip
capacitances down to 2 pF, together with an efficient reduction of leakage
currents needed for high power operation . GaInNAs is a novel material for long
wavelength semiconductor laser. In the conduction band, very deep QWs could
be fabricated. Therefore the electron overflow from the wells to the barrier layers
at high temperature can be suppressed and hence it is very attractive to
overcome the poor temperature characteristics of conventional long wavelength
laser diode used for optical fiber communication. Sato et al fabricated highly
strained GaInNAs ridge stripe lasers grown by metal organic chemical vapour
deposition with different In contents (37% and 39%) that exhibited a low
threshold current density of 1 kAcm2 at 20°C. A new generation of semiconductor
laser known as quantum cascade lasers that are more powerful than diode lasers
at the same wavelength because every electron injected into the device creates
many photons, rather than just one. It uses only one type of charge carrier
electrons, and is therefore called a unipolar laser. In practice, quantum cascade
lasers have outperformed diode lasers operating the same wavelength key factors
greater than 100 in terms of power due to cascading effect and the ability to carry
large currents. The revolutionary aspect of the quantum cascade laser is that it
can be designed to emit at any wavelength over an extremely wide range using
the same combination of materials in the active region. This is because the laser
wavelength is determined by the thickness of the layers rather than the band gap
of the materials.
2. Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Like a laser a LED is a semiconductor device that serves as a modulatable light
source for use in optoelectronic communication. LEDs differ from lasers with their
narrower spectral widths and cheaper manufacturing costs. High radiance LEDs
have been the subject of intensive research and development for fiber optical
communication due to their linearity and temperature sensitivity and inherently
small sensitivity gradual degradation .Development in high radiance and high
speed LEDs has made possible their application to high-bit-rate PCM optical
communication.
3. Optical Fiber
Optical fiber serves as the transmission medium for optical communication
systems. Light generated by laser or LED is complied into an optical fiber core and
propagates through the fiber. Optical signal attenuates as they propagate, but
signal attenuation in fiber is much less severe than the attenuation of electrical
signals in copper wires. Fiber-optic cables come in single-mode and multi-mode
verities. Single-mode fibers have narrower cores than multimode fibers and need
to be ‘lit’ by light sources that have narrow spectral widths. Multimode fibers, due
to their larger diameter cores, are not as strict in terms of light source spectral
width and so can accept and propagate light from LED. Unlike a normal
regenerator/amplifier which first converts optical signals into electrical signals
before regeneration and amplification, EDFA (Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier) can
directly regenerate and amplify an optical signal without going through OEO
process. Optical amplifiers contain a length of fiber that is doped with erbium that
provides gain medium. A laser source is coupled to the fiber and provides the
energy that boosts the optical signal. Filtering technologies such as Fiber Bragg
Grating help to improve the flatness of the amplification gain. Wavelength
converters also perform the reshaping and retiming functions. An implementation
of a wavelength converter uses two InP semiconductor optical Amplifiers in an
Interferometric Mach Zehnder structure.
4.Wavelength converter
An integrated wavelength converter has been developed based on a DBR laser,
which includes a passive saturable absorber. The central electrical contact
controls the saturable absorber, whereas the current in the Bragg section is used
for tuning the wavelength. Wavelength conversion around 1.53µm in a switching
device comprising an InGaAsP/InGaAsP multiple quantum well saturable absorber
in a Fabry-Perot cavity has been demonstrated. All-optical wavelength converters
can increase the flexibility of wavelength
division multiplexed (WDM) networks by allowing such techniques as wavelength
routing. It has been shown that wavelength conversion using an ultra fast optical
switch based on a multiple quantum well (MQW) saturable absorber (SA)
integrated within a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity is possible . The device is designed to
be anti-resonant and impedance matched, such that, ideally, its reflectivity is zero
under small signal conditions at the operating wavelength. The device is
fabricated from a wafer consisting of a 50 period InGaAsP Q1.6/Q1.1 MQW grown
above a 16 period distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) in a single metal-organic
vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) step. Excitonic absorption bleaching, which is the
SA mechanism in the MQW, has a recovery time of a few nanoseconds. To
achieve the picosecond recovery times required for state-of-the-art, 40Gbps per
channel, optical communication systems the device was implanted with 4MeV
nitrogen ions at a density of 1012 ions/cm2. Wavelength conversion was
demonstrated by using the reflectivity change due to excitation by 2ps pulses to
modulate CW light.
5.Photodetectors
Photodetectors are used at the receive side of a link. Silicon photodiodes are
particularly suitable for the optical fiber transmission window in the wavelength
region from 800-900 nm. Their spectral responsibility ranges from the near
ultraviolet into the infrared spectral region, with the long wavelength cutoff at
about 1100 nm due to the silicon bandgap. However, for the other optical fiber
transmission windows of 1300 and 1500 nm, germanium detectors are more
efficient. The two types of detectors that are typically used are PIN photodiode
and Avalanche photodiode (APD). PIN photodiodes are so called due to their 3 InP
layer structure: p-doped layer, intrinsic layer and n-doped layer. Avalanche
photodiodes use the avalanche effect in its intrinsic region to create an electrical
gain. The quantum efficiency of PIN photodiode is typically about 80%; the
junction capacitance of a diode designed for optical communication an active area
of 200µm diameter amounts to 0.2 pF.
6.Transmitter
Today’s transmitter devices allow for enormous data transmission speed and
distances and they will further evolve towards still better performance using new
coding schemes and multifunction optoelectronic converters. As transmitter
device, the double channel buried heterostructures laser is currently used for bit
rates upto 2.4 Gbit/s. The vertical structure of this laser grown by GSMBE and the
current blocking pn layers are grown by liquid phase Epitaxy (LPE). Electrical
isolation is achieved by additional proton bombardment. This laser shows
remarkable performance: threshold current of only 20 mA, output power as high
as 50
mW and chirping effect at -20 dB of only 0.15 nm (under 2 Gbit/s modulation with
90% modulation depth).
7.Optical receivers
Optical receiver, i.e., the Intensity modulation/Direct detection (IM/DD) receiver
has normally poor sensitivity. This system is the optical equivalent of the crystal
radio receiver used in the early days of radio communication. After the
introduction of the super heterodyne receiver has revolutionized radio
communication, it is tempting to extend these ideas to optical communication.
For receiving purpose, specific examples of PINs already available are very high
speed detectors for digital use upto more than 20 Gbit/s. Avalanche
Photodetectors with separated absorption, grading and multiplication region have
been used for operation upto 2.5 Gbit/s. Integration on the same InP substrate
will reduce manufacturing costs because manual assembling steps are omitted,
and it will improve receiver performance because parasitic input impedances are
minimized. For the electronics, the top-level transistor technology is
InAlAs/InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Based on LPMOVPE,
these transistors make use of quantum effects to achieve very high electron
mobility and thus very high performance: a transconductance exceeding 400
ms/nm and 28 GHz transit frequency are routinely achieved.
8. PHOTONIC ICs
With the development of InP waveguide devices, such as switches and couplers,
the old dream of photonic ICs is becoming a reality. A perfect example is a
waveguide-fed PIN photodiode, which is used for monitoring as well as receiving.
The structure achieves a state of the art performance (10 GHz BW, less than 1 nA
dark current, nearly 100% internal quantum efficiency) using the evanescent field
coupled structure. For photonic switching, distributed Bragg Reflector laser based
wavelength connector is used. An integrated wavelength converter was
developed based on DBR laser, which includes a passive saturable absorber. The
central electrical contact controls the saturable absorbers, whereas the current in
the Bragg section is used for tuning the wavelength. PIN-HEMT receivers
optoelectronic ICs were realized with InGaAs planar PIN photodiode, the above
HEMTs, and additional resistors, all on one chip. Designed for 2.4 Gbit/s
operations, this chip was tested with a clearly open eye diagram at 3 Gbit/s.

OPTICAL AND PHOTONIC SWITCHING FOR COMMUNICATION

The increasing demand of fast optical switching architecture requires photonic
devices with highly flexible elements for time, space and frequency. These
components are especially indispensable key devices for multichannel wavelength
division multiplexing as well as for frequency division multiplexing optical
transmission. For most applications the photonic device should simultaneously
meet the requirement of a very large tuning range essential in the future photonic
communication technology for optically transparent fiber based Trans switching
systems. Optical space/time switch functions have been demonstrated in addition
with switch speed upto 1 Gbit/s and 0 dB fiber-to-fiber insertion losses in Y lasers.
Y lasers could be used in bistable switching in photonic memory application.
Additional device section in a Y laser which could be designed and used as a
saturable absorber have been optionally introduced to make the component
more suitable for bistable switching/optical memory application. Bistable Y lasers
would also be useful to perform optically controlled memory and switching
functions. Logical operation in the optical domain is easily feasible due to the
additionally built-in light combining/splitting function of the 3 ports Y shaped
device. Symmetric Y laser structure driven below the lasing threshold would be
successfully used as loss less 1 × 2 space switches with high on/off ratio and upto
GHz operation speed. First routing of 5 Gbit/s data packets has been
demonstrated. The performance of this space switches has been improved by
introducing multi quantum well wafer material and by applying anti reflection
coating. Matrix arrangement is done by cascading 3 Y structures in an 1× 4
configuration.

OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS FOR NETWORKING

Optical interconnect technique is inevitable for digital communication applicable
in workstations and servers. Optical interconnection finds various solutions in the
present day communication systems. Optical interconnects are advantageous
over conventional electrical interconnects due to low transmission loss,
electromagnetic interference immunity, low power budget and high bandwidth.
This optical technique is insensitive to mutual interference effect. The
propagation of optical signals is free from capacitive loading effects and depends
on the speed of light in the medium in which it propagates. This is also free from
constraints of planar or quasi - planar structures. As optical interconnects are free
to change, it can reduce the number of electrical pins on each chip. The optical
interconnects are flexible with fan-in and fan out. It can provide large fan out with
lower system power requirement, at higher bandwidths. Optical interconnects
have various architecture. Many variation of architecture have been suggested
that based on: standard apparatus lens let arrays, optical fibers, integrated optical
waveguide and free space propagation. In holographic optical interconnect
element components implement a desired connection between source and
detector. Optical interconnects could be used in WDM optical interconnect
networks and multistage interconnection network.

FIBER-OPTICS IN COMMUNICATION AND OPTICAL NETWORKING

In the present optical fiber communication lasers are used as light sources to
minimize the transmission loss at the optical fiber windows, because most of the
embedded underground fibers are dispersion free and low loss near the
wavelengths 1.3 and 1.55 µm used widely in communication. There has been an
increasing demand for 1.3 µm low cost laser modules for the application in
subscriber networks and optical interconnection systems. The mainstay of
modern telecommunication systems are InGaAs(P) semiconductor lasers
operating at 1.3 and 1.55 µm. At 1.3µm standard Si-based optical fiber has zero
dispersion, while minimum loss may be obtained at 1.55 µm. GaInNAs, AlGaInAs-
InP and InGaAs(P) are very promising long wavelength lasers. In present day fiber
optic system InGaAsP/InP based buried heterostructure (BH) MQW LD are widely
used. Its main advantages are lower threshold current, higher efficiency and
lower temperature dependencies of the threshold current compared to the
regular BH LDs.
Once the advantages of shifting the wavelength of operation to 1300 nm were
discovered both sources and detectors were designed and fabricated using
InGaAsP materials, which gave peak performance at these wavelengths. This, in
conjunction with a graded-index optical fiber started yielding high-bit rate.
However, the real push towards large information handling was made with the
advent of the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) process. WDM
(wavelength division multiplexing) is a technology that allows more than one
wavelength of co-existing light and travel with many other wavelengths. Densed
Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) could be manipulating more than 100
wavelengths in a single fiber. Wavelength Add/Drop Multiplexers can drop or add
one or more wavelength at a node. IP over WDM can be realized by setting up
light paths from source to destination. Optical Networking is exploiting the
technology of interconnects immensely. This Optical time switched network is
referred as WDM / TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) switched network .
Connection between a source and destination in a WDM/TDM switched network
is created by assigning a time slot on every link of a chosen path with the
constrained that the slot on one link can be switched to the next link by the
intermediate node. Optical
switching technology contains two facilities: fast switch with switching time <
nanosecond and time slot interchange. Optical Time Division Multiplexing (OTDM)
system can handle over 1 Tbps. This network will capable to handle a huge variety
of data to huge number of users. OTDM can be used to overcome the bottleneck
of WDM network . Wavelength selectors split an incoming WDM signal into
component wavelengths. One or multiple number of these wavelengths can be
accessed at the selectors tap ports. The signals are then recombined at the
wavelength selector’s main output port. Implementations are popularly done
using InP SOAs and Arrayed waveguide technologies. Passive filters require no
external power to do isolation of a specific wavelength from an incoming WDM
signal. Various implementations are available for this and include layered
dielectric filters, Bragg gratings, Arrayed waveguides and Fabry Perot micro optic
cavities.
Demultiplexers are used in WDM technology. Parabolic mirror elements having
1.2 dB losses were etched in integrated InGaAsP or InP demultiplexres, by using a
CH4/H2/CO2 RIE process and these mirror structures have application in areas
such as laser facets and as focusing elements in integrated wavelength
demultiplexers.

OPTOELECTRONICS IN GLOBAL COMMUNICATION NETWORK

1.Satellite Optical Communication Systems
Ground/ aircraft to satellite and satellite to ground/ aircraft optical
communication links are receiving greater attention in recent years. An optical
free space communication system for inter-satellite links and deep space missions
where the atmosphere is nonexistent has significant advantages in comparison to
a microwave system. High data rate inter-satellite optical communication links
could take advantages of the new unoccupied optical frequency regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum with much smaller antenna size. In order to overcome
atmospheric effects, high power laser systems have to be deployed for bridging
the distance involved. Usually, a CO2 laser is chosen for such links because it can
deliver large power outputs efficiently at 10.6 µm corresponding to the
atmospheric window. The link also requires a highly sensitive optical receiver,
which must be coherent at 10.6 µm.
2. Terrestrial Atmospheric Optical communication Lines
An atmospheric optical communication is always a line of sight communication
since it can not circumvent any physical obstruction between the transmitter and
the receiver. It has to be properly engineered to overcome the problems. The
bandwidth achievable is of the order of 800 MHz or more, with 300 MHz links
already find application in these areas. Experimental
links of over 4 km have been setup though the commercial links today have
ranges of the order of 1 to 1.5 km. Such a link is very useful in busy and built-up
areas where the right of way for laying the cable may not be available or where a
temporary link has o be setup. Atmospheric optical communication has proved its
value in connecting offices/computer terminals in high-rise buildings in
metropolitan environments. The low cost and easy installation (less than half a
day) makes such links very attractive.
3. Underwater Optical Communication: Fiber Optic Transoceanic Cable Systems
In certain aspects improvements in the hundred years old submarine cable
technology has surpassed those in satellite technology. Optical communication
first gained entry into the submarine cable medium rather than the satellite
medium. The advantages in digital technology and digital transmission based on
PCM techniques has provided a base for introducing fiber optics as a transmission
medium in underwater trans-oceanic cable systems, Under sea optical fiber based
cable systems are generally used for two types of links: 565 Mbps channel
capacity with a typical repeater spacing of 80-100 km and 140 Mbps channel
capacity with a typical repeater spacing of 120 to 150 km. To meet the difficulties
of submarine cable system pure silica core low loss dispersion shifted optical
fibers are used in conjunction with 1.55 µm buried heterostructures sources.

CONCLUSION
In the present day information age communication is commonplace in every day
life. Optical communication is in the apex of leadership in sector of this high
speed, no question whether it is optical networking or transoceanic
communication. Future trends find immense promise in the innovation of
material technology and fabrication foundry as well as in the integrated optics.
Monolithic smart optical and photonic devices could easily grasp the flavor of
nanofabrication as well as organic semiconductor or bioelectronics to enrich the
panorama of communication.

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