Alcatel N.v.

Alcatel Alsthom Compagnie Generale D'electricite

Dominique Lesterlin

Jose Chesnoy

Jean-Pierre Hamaide

Christophe Starck

Jean-Guy Provost

Elisabeth Brun

Jerome Langanay

In order to operate at high frequencies and at high optical powers without reducing the possible depth of modulation, a quantum well electro-optical modulator has a semiconductor structure of III-V elements including, in succession, an n doped layer, an undoped layer, a quantum well active layer and a p doped layer. Applications include optical transmission systems.

Quantum well electro-optical modulator

An electro-optical semiconductor modulator includes two successive segments (SA, SD) each of which applies both attenuation and a phase shift to a light wave (12) in response to a control voltage for controlling the segment. The two segments belong to the same structure having multiple quantum wells. A control generator (4) develops the AC components of the two control voltages (MA, MD) respectively in the form of two different combinations of a reference attenuation (A) and of a reference phase shift (D) to be applied to the light wave (12). The control generator also supplies two DC components (VA, VD) of the control voltages with two different values that are chosen so as to enable the two combinations to actually apply the attenuation (A) and the phase shift (D) to the wave. The invention is applicable in particular to implementing an optical link having a high data-rate.

Electro-optical semicoductor modulator, and an optical link including

An electrical power supply (20, 22) powers a semiconductor laser chip (2) under gain switching conditions so as to make the chip emit light pulses. The light pulses are compressed in a fiber (30) having negative dispersion, so that they constitute solitons. Their spectrum width is decreased by the fact that a gain segment powered by the power supply constitutes only a portion of the length of the resonant cavity of the chip. The invention applies to transmitting data over optical fibers.

Gain-switched semiconductor light pulse source, and a soliton

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Vitry sur Seine, France

Dominique Lesterlin