Light Logic Gates with GaAs‐Based Structures

Abstract

The novel XOR, OR, and NAND optical logic gates have been investigated using GaAs‐based Hot Electron Light Emission and Lasing in Semiconductor Heterostructures (HELLISH) devices. The HELLISH devices are fabricated in the Top Hat‐HELLISH (TH‐HELLISH) geometry to achieve a nonlinear potential distribution at the p–n junction, which consists of a 13 nm thick GaAs quantum well placed on the n‐side of the junction. Logic gates whose input part is designed as an electric field output beam incorporate four independent contacts to the p‐ and n‐type layers. Electroluminescence measurements of the output beam are performed by applying a pulsed voltage of ≈150 V with a pulse width of 200 ns and a frequency of 20 kHz to the contacts of the TH‐HELLISH device. At room temperature, the primary emission wavelength of the optical logic gates is around 840 ± 1 nm. It is expected that optical logic gates obtained using this type of GaAs semiconductor structure have crucial potential to be components for high‐speed optical communication technology due to their simplicity, polarity‐independent operation, and emission wavelength.