Design, Fabrication and Characterisation of Normal-Incidence 1.56-µm Multiple-Quantum-Well Asymmetric Fabry-Perot Modulators for Passive Picocells

Abstract

SUMMARY We have designed and fabricated air-bridged modulators with bandwidths exceeding 10 GHz, the highest yet realised to date for InGaAsP/InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well (MQW) asymmetric Fabry-Perot modulators (AFPMs). Microwave modulation, measurements of intermodulation between the photodetected downlink and modulated uplink signals, and bi-directional broadband data over fibre transmission experiments have been performed to verify the potential of the AFPM as a single electrical/optical transceiver. We also report the first direct integration of this AFPM with a microstrip patch antenna and present results of a preliminary microwave signal transmission experiment over a distance of 1.4 m in free-space at 5.2 GHz