Observation of 990-MHz Optical Oscillation From Light Emitters Excited by High-Order Harmonics of Surface Acoustic Waves

• Published in: IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control ferroelectrics, and frequency control, 2021-03, Vol.68 (3), p.854-858
• Main Authors: Tsai, Meng-Yu, Pan, Szu-Yu, Huang, Jian-Jang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic coupling; Acoustic properties; Acousto-optics; Coupling; Data processing; Emitters; Emitters (electron); Gallium nitride; GaN; Harmonic analysis; Higher harmonics; interdigital transducers (IDTs); Light emitting diodes; light emitting diodes (LEDs); Optical variables control; Photons; Quantum phenomena; Radio frequency; Room temperature; Surface acoustic waves; surface acoustic waves (SAWs)
• ISSN: 0885-3010; 1525-8955
• DOI: 10.1109/TUFFC.2020.3010269

Optomechanical properties have been widely explored on the interactions between phonon, photon, and electrons. The applications range from acoustic filters for mobile handsets to quantum information science./However, up to date, the interaction between harmonic modes of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and photons has not been studied in detail. Here, we develop radio frequency (RF) - modulated light emitters driven by the coupling between electrical and acoustic signals at room temperature. The light emitter demonstrates a 990-MHz oscillation behavior which cannot be solely achieved by electrical driving due to resistance-capacitance ( RC ) limit. Instead, the result is attributed to the excitation by the harmonics of SAWs in the light emitter. The ~gigahertz light oscillation enables a new architecture for information processing. In this work, we also demonstrate the coupling between acoustooptical and electrooptical interactions by simultaneously applying 990-MHz acoustic signals and 20-MHz modulated electrical inputs.