Polarization dependence of quantum-confined Stark effect in Ge/SiGe quantum well planar waveguides

We report room-temperature quantum-confined Stark effect in Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with light propagating parallel to the plane of the Ge/SiGe MQWs for applications in integrated photonics. Planar waveguides embedded in a p-i-n diode are fabricated in order to investigate the absorption spectra at different reverse bias voltages from optical transmission measurements for both TE and TM polarizations. Polarization dependence of the absorption spectra of the Ge/SiGe MQWs is clearly observed. The planar waveguides exhibit a high extinction ratio and low insertion loss over a wide spectral range for TE polarization. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America