Prof. Milton Feng and graduate students Curtis Wang and Junyi Qiu (pictured) along with Prof. Nick Holonyak, Jr. have discovered the phenomenon of intra-cavity photon-assisted tunneling (ICpaT) in the Transistor Laser. This phenomenon is unique to the Transistor Laser with its three-port structure and electrical/optical ouput, where photon absorption in the collector promotes a very quick tunneling process that serves as a direct-voltage-modulation scheme. Under this scheme, the Transistor Laser can be modulated down to the femtosecond range, much faster than direct-current-modulated diode lasers.
This work is sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
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