GaN/AlN electro-optical modulator prototype at telecommunication wavelengths

We report on a prototype electro-optical modulator at telecommunication wavelength based on intersubband (ISB) transitions in a short-period GaN/AlN superlattice (SL). The device has a vertical architecture resembling a nitride-based high-electron mobility transistor, whose barrier layer has been replaced by a 5 period SL. By applying an electrical field, we were able to influence the bandstructure and as a consequence to quench the ISB absorption peak originating from the SL.