Characteristic analysis of absorptive multiple-quantum-well optical waveguides

Abstract

By extending the transfer matrix technique from the real domain to the complex, the complex eigenvalue equation is presented for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes of absorptive multiple-quantumwell optical waveguides, and a computer program is developed to solve the eigenvalue equation in the complex plane. On the basis of the computed results, the effects of the structural parameters and the refractive index profile on the mode propagation and loss properties are analysed and discussed for In^x Ga^1−xAs/Al^yGa^1−yAs absorptive multiple-quantum-well optical waveguides. The results indicate that, if approximate guided structural parameters and an appropriate refractive index profile are selected, higher-order modes can be controlled and single-mode propagation can be realized in the multiple-quantum-well optical waveguide with lower mode loss.