Birefringence in ordered (Al)GaInP

We report on a way to examine the birefringence introduced by chemical ordering in (Al)GaInP using waveguide structures. We find that ordered (Al)GaInP is positively birefringent far below the band gap, while approaching the band gap it becomes negatively birefringent. The dispersion of the measured birefringence is compared with calculations that take into account the strongly anisotropic absorption at the band gap due to the splitting of the valence bands. We will show how the polarization state of light traveling along the [011] direction in chemically ordered (Al)GaInP waveguides is affected by the reduced crystal symmetry introduced by ${\mathrm{CuPt}}_{\mathrm{B}}$-type ordering. Birefringence leads to a conversion of transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarized light within 60 μm. This can be understood due to new modes in the waveguide, the ``supermodes,'' with an orientation tilted with respect to the TE/TM orientation. In the [01-bar1] direction, the common TE/TM modes stay unchanged. With a simple theory of mode coupling, it is possible to understand the observed polarization behavior. A transfer-matrix method for anisotropic planar waveguides is used to achieve a more detailed analysis. Consequences and possibilities for applications are considered.