Influence of scattering and two-photon absorption on the optical loss in GaAs-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ nonlinear waveguides measured using femtosecond pulses

The influence of scattering and two-photon absorption on the optical loss in GaAs-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ semiconductor nonlinear waveguides has been studied using femtosecond pulses. By deploying a scattering technique, loss coefficients were evaluated over an extended wavelength range of 1.3-2.1 (mu)m in the near-infrared. A systematic study involving intensity and wavelength dependence of the loss revealed the presence of two-photon absorption for wavelengths below 1.6 (mu)m. A simple nonlinear transmission study enabled the separation of the two-photon absorption coefficient from scattering and linear absorption. The calculated two-photon absorption coefficients were ~9-20 cm/GW.