Optimization of absorption in symmetric self-electrooptic effect devices: a systems perspective

The system switching speed or bit rate and signal beam tolerances of optical processing systems comprised of cascaded symmetric self-electrooptic effect devices (S-SEEDs) are calculated as a function of the absorption characteristics of the devices. It is shown that the optimum design is not characterized simply by best transmission contrast ratio or by 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 a S-SEED for best system performance is a compromise. The authors find that devices made by maximizing the ratio of the absorption coefficients in the high and low states while minimizing the change in the applied electric field will give nearly optimum system performance