| {dollar}rm InAssb{lcub}x{rcub}Psb{lcub}1-x{rcub},{dollar} strained multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on InP substrates are a promising material system for optoelectronics applications near 1.3{dollar}mu{dollar}m wavelength, which is a low-loss and low-dispersion spectrum window for long-distance optical fiber communications. In this work, tensile-strained {dollar}rm Gasb{lcub}y{rcub}Insb{lcub}1-y{rcub}P{dollar} was introduced as the barrier material for compensating the compressive strain in the quantum wells. This thesis concerns the correlation between the optical properties and the structural properties of such MQW structures.; It is shown that high-quality strain-compensated {dollar}rm InAssb{lcub}x{rcub}Psb{lcub}1-x{rcub}/Gasb{lcub}y{rcub}Insb{lcub}1-y{rcub}P{dollar} MQWs can be grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE) on InP substrates. Double crystal x-ray rocking curves (DCXRC), photoluminescence (PL), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), and electroabsorption (EA) measurements were performed to characterize the MQW structures. High structural and optical quality were obtained from InA{dollar}rmsb{lcub}0.4{rcub}Psb{lcub}0.6{rcub}/Gasb{lcub}0.13{rcub}Insb{lcub}0.87{rcub}P{dollar} MQWs with up to 50 periods. The surface-normal EA spectra exhibit a significant quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) near 1.3 {dollar}mu{dollar}m and 1.5 {dollar}mu{dollar}m wavelength with a field-dependent absorption coefficient change of up to 6000 cm{dollar}sp{lcub}-1{rcub}.{dollar} The results of thermal annealing experiments show that these MQWs are thermally stable at elevated temperatures up to 630{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C, higher than usual processing temperatures in device fabrications.; These MQWs are applied to EA waveguide modulators for RF photonic links. Excellent device performance, i.e., small insertion loss (7 dB) and a large transmission-voltage slope efficiency (1.41 V{dollar}sp{lcub}-1{rcub}){dollar} was achieved. Correlation between the device performance and the material structures, e.g., well width, doping profile and barrier design, was also studied. |
