Resonant quantum well modulator driver

1. A drive circuit for a quantum well modulator, comprising:

a bias voltage source coupled to the quantum well modulator and configured to supply a bias voltage to the quantum well modulator;

a modulation voltage source configured to supply a modulating voltage to the quantum well modulator for changing an optical property thereof,

a first switch coupled to the modulation voltage source and to the quantum well modulator, the first switch configured to deliver the modulating voltage to the quantum well modulator via a first conduction path according to a state of the first switch;

a second switch coupled to the first switch and to the quantum well modulator, the second switch configured to return a current associated with the modulating voltage to the modulation voltage source via a second conduction path according to a state of the second switch; and

a processor configured to vary the state of the first switch and the second switch such that the modulation voltage source alternately supplies the modulating voltage and returns the current to the modulation voltage source.

2. The drive circuit of claim 1 wherein the modulation voltage source comprises a battery.

3. The drive circuit of claim 1 wherein the processor varies the state of the first switch and the second switch at a predetermined interval.

4. The drive circuit of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined interval is based on a resonance of the drive circuit and the quantum well modulator.

5. The drive circuit of claim 1 further comprising an inductor coupled to the first and second switches and to the quantum well modulator, wherein the inductor forms part of the first conduction path and the second conduction path.

6. The drive circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature detector coupled to the processor and configured to detect an ambient temperature of the drive circuit.

7. The drive circuit of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to separately adjust a level of the modulating voltage and the bias voltage based on an input from the temperature detector.

8. The drive circuit of claim 7 , further comprising a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the voltage levels from the memory.

9. The drive circuit of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises a lookup table including modulation voltage levels, bias voltage levels, and ambient temperature values associated with the modulation voltage and bias voltage levels.

10. The drive circuit of claim 7 , wherein the processor determines the voltage levels according to an optical response characteristic of the quantum well modulator.

11. An communication device, comprising:

a modulator comprising:

a quantum well modulator configured to modulate an incoming optical signal in response to a modulation voltage,

a first conduction path comprising a first switch for selectively delivering a modulating voltage from a power supply to the quantum well modulator based on a first control signal, and

a second conduction path comprising a second switch for selectively returning a current associated with the modulating voltage to the power supply based on a second control signal;

a retro reflector coupled to the quantum well modulator and configured to reflect the modulated optical signal away from the communication device; and

a processor configured to generate a timing of the first and second control signals such that pulses of the modulation voltage are delivered to the quantum well modulator during a first interval and current is returned to the power supply during a second interval.

12. The communication device of claim 11 , further comprising:

an optical receiver coupled to the processor and configured to receive the incoming optical signal, wherein the processor is configured to time-align the control signals with the incoming optical signal.

13. The communication device of claim 11 , further comprising a temperature detector coupled to the processor and configured to detect an ambient temperature of the communication device.

14. The communication device of claim 13 wherein the processor is configured to change an amplitude of the modulation voltage based on the ambient temperature of the communication device.

15. The communication device of claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured to adjust a bias voltage of the quantum well modulator independently of the modulation voltage.

16. The communication device of claim 15 wherein the processor adjusts the bias voltage and the modulation voltage based on the ambient temperature of the communication device.

17. The communication device of claim 15 wherein the power supply comprises a battery.

18. A drive circuit, comprising:

a first voltage source coupled to a quantum well modulator for establishing a bias level of the quantum well modulator;

a second voltage source configured to deliver a modulating voltage to the quantum well modulator for changing an optical property of the quantum well modulator when the quantum well modulator is biased by the first voltage source;

a temperature detector configured to detect an ambient temperature of the drive circuit; and

a processor coupled to the temperature detector and configured to control delivery of the modulating voltage in response to an incoming optical signal and to dynamically adjust a voltage level of the first voltage source and the second voltage source based on the ambient temperature; and

a first switch coupled to the second voltage source and the quantum well modulator for delivering the modulating voltage to the quantum well modulator in response to a first control signal; and

a second switch coupled to the quantum well modulator and to a ground potential for returning a current associated with the modulating voltage to the second voltage source in response to a second control signal, wherein the processor is configured to determine a timing of the first and second control signals.

19. The drive circuit of claim 18 , further comprising an inductor coupled to the quantum well modulator and to the first and second switches, wherein the processor controls the timing of the first control signal and the second control signal according to a resonant frequency of the inductor and the quantum well modulator.

20. The drive circuit of claim 18 , wherein the processor controls the modulation voltage by making and interrupting a connection between the second voltage source and the quantum well modulator.

21. A method of controlling a quantum well modulator with a drive circuit, comprising:

detecting an ambient temperature of the quantum well modulator;

determining a bias voltage level based on the ambient temperature;

determining a modulating voltage level based on the ambient temperature;

delivering the bias voltage to the quantum well modulator;

delivering pulses of the modulating voltage to the quantum well modulator in response to an incoming optical signal; and

generating a first control signal and a second control signal such that the pulses of the modulation voltage are delivered to the quantum well modulator during a first interval via a first conduction path comprising a first switch and current is returned to the power supply during a second interval via a second conduction path comprising a second switch so as to minimize a power consumption of the drive circuit.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

transmitting the incoming optical signal to a retro-reflector in response to a first level of the modulation voltage; and

attenuating the incoming optical signal in response to a second level of the modulation voltage.

23. The method of claim 21 , further comprising aligning the pulses of the modulating voltage in time with pulses of the incoming optical signal.

24. The method of claim 21 , further comprising modulating the incoming optical signal with a predetermined code sequence.