Gigabit Pulse Position Bistability in Semiconductor Lasers

The paper briefly reviews the major forms of optical bistability in active optical devices compatible for use in gigabit optical communication systems, and reports an entirely new optical bistability for the first time. Unlike previous devices, the two bistable states of the optical device are each a series of picosecond optical pulses at 1 GHz or greater repetition rates, and are distinguished by a half period temporal shift between their temporal positions in relation to a clock pulse. The bistable device is based on a gain switched semiconductor laser. Theoretical studies suggest 100-ps switching speeds might be achieved, and experimental results are reported indicating optically triggered switching times of 500 ps. © 1987, American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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An ingenious new CMOS-compatible process which promises to significantly improve the performance of power devices is discussed. A novel power device concept based on the use of high voltage regions suspended on thin semiconductor/dielectric membranes is reported. The membrane power devices are manufactured in a fully-CMOS compatible silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process followed by a bulk etching step and subsequent back-passivation. The concept is applicable to a class of high voltage devices such as LDMOSFETs, diodes, LIGBTs and superjunctions.