Polarisation sensitive optical transducer

摘要

A polarisation sensitive optical transducer has a first layer system (8) of first conductivity type doped compound semiconductor and two spaced-apart contacts (1, 7) on the layer system (8) for defining a conductive channel, the conductivity of which is altered by incident light. The novelty is that the conductivity change is modified, in accordance with the incident light polarisation, by an intrinsic second layer system (9) of a compound semiconductor with a mono-atomic superlattice structure which is provided on the opposite side of the first layer system (8) from the light incidence side and which is followed by a third layer system (10) of a second conductivity type doped compound semiconductor. Also claimed are a polarisation sensitive switch, a polarisation measuring device and a polarisation rotation device, all equipped with the above optical transducer. Further claimed is production of the above transducer by epitaxially growing the third layer system (10) on a substrate (11), growing the second layer system (9) by metal-organic gas phase epitaxy under growth conditions such that a superlattice structure of group III atoms is obtained, growing the first layer system (8), locally doping contact layer regions (2) in the first layer system (8) and vapour depositing metallic contacts (1, 7) on the contact layer regions (2).