OPTIMIZATION OF ABSORPTION IN SYMMETRICAL SELF-ELECTROOPTIC EFFECT DEVICES - A SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

In this paper, the system switching speed or bit rate and signal beam tolerances of optical processing systems comprised of cascaded symmetric self-electrooptic effect devices (S-SEED's) are calculated as a function of the absorption characteristics of the devices. We show that the optimum design is neither simply one of best transmission contrast ratio nor of largest absolute difference between the "low" and "high" absorption states. Because the same diodes are used as detectors and modulators simultaneously, the optimum design for an S-SEED for best system performance is a compromise. We find that devices made by maximizing the ratio of the absorption coefficients in the "high" and "low" states while minimizing the change in applied electric field will give nearly "optimum" system performance.