Abstract

Optoelectronic technology has the potential for high-density information transmission and storage, both in time and space. However, the ultimate speed of information transmission-storage systems is believed to be limited mainly by the performance of photonic and electronic devices. The smaller optical loss against the gain is required for high efficiency and stable operation of semiconductor lasers, and larger field-induced refractive-index variation is required for high-speed optical switches, but these optical properties are limited by the nature of carriers in bulk crystals. Thus, some effort has been made to attain superior device performance with novel material systems by using the quantum-size effect. In this paper recent research on lasers and photonic switches based on the quantum size effect are reviewed relative to high-speed information systems. First, the theoretical background of optical properties in quantum size structures is reviewed, and expected improvements in device performance caused by the increase of the dimension of quantization from quantum-film to quantum-box structure will be discussed fsom the aspect of high-speed systems. Second, experiments toward the quantum-wire and quantum-box lasers and optical waveguide switch/modulators utilizing quantum size effects are reviewed. Finally, some basic studies on electronic devices that use quantum size effects are reviewed in relation to highspeed electronics.

© 1990 Optical Society of America