Abstract

Conventional optoelectronic (OE) waveguide devices/materials have little flexibility in polarization properties. The ratio between TE and TM mode gain or absorption does not vary much during normal operation. In certain cases it is important and useful to be able to actively control the polarization in optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEIC). This would allow TE and TM mode light beams to be processed independently and dynamically thus opening the door for new OEIC-based photonic processing techniques, Also, polarization mismatch problems in integrated waveguide devices can degrade coupling efficiency, which could be negated by an ability to tune the state of polarization.

© 1996 Optical Society of America