Reflective light modulator based on epsilon-GaSe crystal

Abstract

We report the results of investigating a low-voltage, polarization-insensitive, reflective-type modulator based on an epsilon -GaSe crystal and operated at the 1.960-eV line of a He-Ne laser. We demonstrate that the modulation in an Al-epsilon -GaSe-Cu device results mainly from the Franz-Keldysh effect. Relatively high speed and low operating voltage could make these modulators with Schottky-barrier contacts attractive devices in the reds range of the spectrum. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.