This technology has the potential to produce extremely high depth resolution cameras, given that the depth resolution of these devices scales linearly with the modulation frequency. I demonstrated that our approach to TOF imaging allowed us to extend the modulation frequency past what is available in traditional closed form CMOS devices. Additionally, all commercially available systems relied on non-conventional CMOS imagers like photon mixing device (PMD) arrays. Up to the date of my work being published no TOF cameras above 980 nm operation have been demonstrated. I first demonstrated that we could use large area surface MQW modulators as high-speed shutters to produce open-architecture short wavelength IR (SWIR) time of flight cameras (TOF). Several applications that explore these capabilities across different free-space imaging and interrogation modalities are presented, each highlighting different ways to take advantage of the properties of high efficiency surface normal modulators. Surface normal operation also enables many different integration opportunities within free-space optical systems. This opens the potential for large area multimode modulators which possess very low alignment sensitivity and high space bandwidth product, ideal for free-space and high efficiency applications. These modulators are based on the quantum confined stark effect and have sufficient modulation contrast to be used without cavity enhancement. These features of a waveguide coupled solution heavily limits the potential information processing bandwidth of the system and makes them unideal for non-static applications where any small sources of misalignment or mode shape distortion (vibration, scattering, air turbulence, etc.) will produce substantial noise.In my work, machine optimized multi-quantum well (MQW) electro-absorptive modulators which are capable of being used in a free-space surface normal configuration are explored. Coupling in and out of these waveguides requires very fine alignment to small mode areas with fixed numerical aperture restrictions. Many of the optoelectronic modulators typically used require integration with waveguides. One of the key components of a photonic interlink is an optoelectronic modulator which is used to encode data from an electrical signal on to an optical carrier. Photonics are useful in applications where high-bandwidth and low-loss interlinks are desired.
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