Claims
- 1. A quantum well structure comprising two or more quantum well layers coupled by at least one barrier layer such that at least one of a piezo-electric field and a pyro-electric field is produced, wherein said quantum well structure is sufficiently doped to cause a Fermi energy to be located between ground states and excited states of the coupled quantum well layers.
- 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the quantum well structure comprises two quantum well layers coupled by a common barrier layer located between said two quantum well layers.
- 3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the quantum well layers comprise gallium and nitrogen.
- 4. The structure of claim 1, wherein the barrier layer comprises aluminum, gallium, and nitrogen.
- 5. The structure of claim 1, wherein the quantum well structure is doped with silicon.
- 6. The structure of claim 5, wherein the quantum well structure is doped with silicon to a density of about 1×1019 cm−3 to about 5×1020 cm−3.
- 7. The structure of claim 1, wherein the barrier layer is from about 5 Å to about 20 Å wide.
- 8. The structure of claim 1, wherein the quantum well layers are each from about 5 Å to about 25 Å wide.
- 9. The structure of claim 1, wherein the quantum well layers are substantially identical.
- 10. The structure of claim 1, wherein said barrier layer comprises an AIN mole fraction of between about 0.5 to 1.0.
- 11. The structure of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the widths of the two quantum well layers is less than 0.8.
- 12. A layered semiconductor comprising:
a plurality of quantum well structures, wherein at least one of said quantum well structures comprises two or more quantum well layers coupled by at least one barrier layer such that at least one of a piezo-electric field and a pyro-electric field is produced, and wherein said at least one of said quantum well structures is sufficiently doped to cause a Fermi energy to be located between ground states and excited states of the coupled quantum well layers; and at least one barrier region, said barrier region disposed to interleave said plurality of quantum well structures.
- 13. The semiconductor of claim 12, wherein the quantum well structure comprises two quantum well layers coupled by a common barrier layer located between said two quantum well layers.
- 14. The semiconductor of claim 12, wherein the barrier region comprises an AIN mole fraction of between about 0.5 to 1.0.
- 15. An apparatus, comprising:
an optical waveguide comprising a layered semiconductor, said semiconductor comprising (i) a plurality of quantum well structures, wherein at least one of said quantum well structures comprises two or more quantum well layers coupled by at least one barrier layer such that at least one of a piezo-electric field and a pyro-electric field is produced, and wherein said at least one of said quantum well structures is sufficiently doped to cause a Fermi energy to be located between ground states and excited states of the coupled quantum well layers; and (ii) at least one barrier region, said barrier region disposed to interleave said quantum well structures; and an energy source configured to supply energy to said at least one of said quantum well structures.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the waveguide comprises cladding disposed around the semiconductor.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the waveguide couples to an optical feedback device to form a laser cavity.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said energy source is at least one of a light source or an electrical source.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said layered semiconductor comprises optical properties that are modulated by light or electricity supplied by said energy source.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said energy source is configured to pump said quantum well structure.
- 21. A method for aligning energy levels of coupled quantum well layers within a quantum well structure comprising two or more quantum well layers coupled by at least one barrier layer such that at least one of a piezo-electric field and a pyro-electric field is produced, said method comprising doping said quantum well structure sufficiently to cause a Fermi energy to be located between ground states and excited states of the coupled quantum well layers.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the quantum well structure is dopedwith silicon to a density of about 1×1019 cm−3 to about 5×1020 cm−3.
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] The present application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/313,403, filed Aug. 17, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60313403 |
Aug 2001 |
US |