Nanomaterials, such as metal or semiconductor nanoparticles and nanorods, exhibit similar dimensions to those of biomolecules, such as proteins (enzymes, antigens, antibodies) or DNA. The integration of nanoparticles, which exhibit unique electronic, photonic, and catalytic properties, with biomaterials, which display unique recognition, catalytic, and inhibition properties, yields novel hybrid nanobiomaterials of synergetic properties and functions. This review describes recent advances in the synthesis of biomolecule-nanoparticle/nanorod hybrid systems and the application of such assemblies in the generation of 2D and 3D ordered structures in solutions and on surfaces. Particular emphasis is directed to the use of biomolecule-nanoparticle (metallic or semiconductive) assemblies for bioanalytical applications and for the fabrication of bioelectronic devices.

Integrated Nanoparticle–Biomolecule Hybrid Systems: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

The authors have recently demonstrated 57 nm of tuning in a monolithic semiconductor laser using conventional distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) technology with grating elements removed in a periodic fashion. They describe the theory and design of these so-called sampled-grating tunable lasers. They calculate sample-grating reflectivity, and present normalized design curves which quantify tradeoffs involved in a sampled-grating DBR laser with two mismatched sampled-grating mirrors. These results are applied to a design example in the InP-InGaAsP system. The design provides 70-nm tuning while maintaining >30-dB mode suppression ratio (MSR), with fractional index change Delta mu / mu >

Theory, design, and performance of extended tuning range semiconductor lasers with sampled gratings

100-Gb/s dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) transmitter and receiver photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are demonstrated. The transmitter is realized through the integration of over 50 discrete functions onto a single monolithic InP chip. The resultant DWDM PICs are capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving ten wavelengths at 10 Gb/s on a DWDM wavelength grid. Optical system performance results across a representative DWDM long-haul link are presented for a next-generation optical transport system using these large-scale PICs. The large-scale PIC enables significant reductions in cost, packaging complexity, size, fiber coupling, and power consumption.

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Large-scale photonic integrated circuits

A review is presented of the properties of interdigitated metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) Schottky barrier photodetectors based on the InGaAs-InP material system, and the performance achieved by experimental devices is discussed. The experimental work concentrates on the barrier-enhanced lattice-matched InAlAs-InGaAs device grown by low pressure organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD), which has to date yielded detectors with the highest performance characteristics. Current research on their integration with FETs to form monolithic receivers and with waveguides for on-chip optical signal processing is also included. >

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InGaAs metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors for long wavelength optical communications

Semiconductor photonic integrated circuits (PICs) refer to that subset of optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) which focus primarily on the monolithic integration of optically interconnected guided-wave optoelectronic devices. The principal motivation for PIC research is the expected cost reduction and packaging robustness associated with replacing individually aligned, single-mode optical connections between discrete optoelectronic devices with lithographically produced integrated waveguides. This field has recently seen significant advances resulting from improved III-V epitaxial crystal growth and related processing techniques. A discussion is presented of the design and fabrication issues, illustrated by a number of recently demonstrated InP-based PICs. >

Semiconductor photonic integrated circuits

We demonstrate improved performance in tunable distributed-Bragg-reflector lasers using GaInAs/GaInAsP multiple-quantum-well active layers. We observe linewidths as low as 1.9 MHz, differential quantum efficiencies as large as 33%/front facet at 1.5μm, and rapid electronic access to all frequencies throughout a 1000GHz range.

Continuously tunable 1.5μm multiple-quantum-well GaInAs/GaInAsP distributed-Bragg-reflector lasers

We describe the fabrication and performance of the first integrated heterodyne receiver capable of actual heterodyne data reception. Integrating a continuously tunable 1.5 μm MQW-DBR laser with a single-mode directional coupler/switch and zero-bias MQW waveguide photodetectors, we have achieved error-free reception of FSK-modulated pseudorandom digital code at 105 Mbit/s.

GaInAs/GaInAsP multiple-quantum-well integrated heterodyne receiver

Direct write e‐beam lithography and reactive ion etching was used to fabricate square‐wave gratings in quartz substrates which serve as pure phase masks in the near‐field holographic printing of gratings. This method of fabricating these masks extends the flexibility of the printing technique by allowing both abrupt phase shifts as well as multiple grating pitches to be simultaneously printed from a single contact mask. Grating masks with periods in the 235–250 nm range have been produced and measured to be within 0.15 nm of the design period. Transmitted and diffracted beam powers have also been measured for various duty cycles and etch depths and are shown to be important parameters for ‘‘balancing’’ these interfering beams. Simple scalar diffraction modeling is used to qualitatively examine the dependence of diffraction on grating parameters, but the need for a more comprehensive modeling is illustrated. Prototype masks have been used to produce grating patterns on InP substrates using two different ul...

Characterization of near‐field holography grating masks for optoelectronics fabricated by electron beam lithography

The first monolithically integrated laser/interferometric modulator is reported. The total chip length of 2.5 mm includes a 970 μm-long strained InGaAs/InGaAsP quantum well gain section, a 230 μm-long wavelength tuning section containing a distributed Bragg reflector grating, and an 800 μm-long active length Mach-Zehnder modulator based on electrorefractive InGaAsP/InP quantum wells. 4 V pushpull drive voltage produces 12.5 dB modulation depth with −9 dBm optical power coupled into a cleaved fibre.

Quantum well interferometric modulator monolithically integrated with 1.55 mu m tunable distributed Bragg reflector laser

An 8-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) array for narrow channel wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has been fabricated with a new technique for printing first-order Bragg gratings using a phase mask and a conventional incoherent source. All the distributed gratings were printed in a single photolithographic step with a slightly modified mask aligner. The DBR's excellent wavelength control for channels separated by as little as 0.8 nm is described. Many advanced photonic devices relying on gratings like quarter-wave shifted distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) components can potentially be manufactured with this technique in a simple and cost-effective way. >

R. P. Gnall

Papers

Continuously tunable 1.5μm multiple-quantum-well GaInAs/GaInAsP distributed-Bragg-reflector lasers

GaInAs/GaInAsP multiple-quantum-well integrated heterodyne receiver

Characterization of near‐field holography grating masks for optoelectronics fabricated by electron beam lithography

Quantum well interferometric modulator monolithically integrated with 1.55 mu m tunable distributed Bragg reflector laser

8-wavelength DBR laser array fabricated with a single-step Bragg grating printing technique