Patent ID: 8098965

Claim:
A semiconductor electroabsorption modulator, comprising: a semiconductor wave guide having an input port configured to receive an input optical signal comprising a wavelength and an output port configured to transmit an output optical signal, said semiconductor wave guide having an electronic bandgap and an absorption coefficient for said wavelength, at least a portion of said semiconductor wave guide having at least one deliberately created electronic energy state within said electronic bandgap; and at least one pair of electrodes disposed in proximity to at least a portion of said semiconductor wave guide, at least one electrode of said at least one pair of electrodes configured to receive an input data signal, wherein in response to an application of said input data signal to said at least one electrode of said at least one pair of electrodes, said semiconductor electroabsorption modulator is configured to provide an output optical signal comprising a modulation component based upon a change in said absorption coefficient of at least a portion of said semiconductor wave guide, said modulation component configured to distinguish a one from a zero in a digital data stream; wherein said change in said absorption coefficient of at least a portion of said semiconductor wave guide is responsive to a change in a Fermi level of said semiconductor wave guide, whereby a probability of occupancy of said at least one deliberately created electronic energy state within said electronic bandgap is modified.