Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
11:08

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities

Published on: November 30, 2012

Thermo-optically tunable silicon photonic crystal light modulator.

Yonghao Cui1, Ke Liu, Duncan L MacFarlane

  • 1Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA. yonghao.cui@colorado.edu

Optics Letters
|November 3, 2010
PubMed
Summary

We developed a compact silicon photonic crystal light modulator. This device uses localized heating to tune its optical properties for 1.55 µm light.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Silicon photonics 2  ×  2 trench coupler design and foundry fabrication.

Applied optics·2022
Same author

Acoustic Wave-Driven Liquid Metal Expansion.

Micromachines·2022
Same author

Review of Electrothermal Micromirrors.

Micromachines·2022
Same author

Electric Field-Driven Liquid Metal Droplet Generation and Direction Manipulation.

Micromachines·2021
Same author

Biocompatibility of SU-8 and Its Biomedical Device Applications.

Micromachines·2021
Same author

Conversion of Polymer Surfaces into Nonwetting Substrates for Liquid Metal Applications.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2021

Area of Science:

  • Photonics
  • Materials Science
  • Optical Engineering

Background:

  • Silicon photonic crystals (PhCs) offer unique light manipulation properties.
  • Thermo-optic effects in silicon are crucial for tunable photonic devices.
  • Compact modulators are essential for integrated optical systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design, fabricate, and characterize a novel thermo-optically tunable silicon PhC light modulator.
  • To demonstrate modulation of the cutoff frequency in a silicon PhC using localized heating.
  • To achieve efficient light modulation at telecom wavelengths (around 1.55 µm).

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of a silicon PhC using a triangular lattice of cylindrical air holes on a silicon-on-insulator wafer.
  • Implementation of localized heating for thermo-optic tuning of the silicon refractive index.

More Related Videos

Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers
08:44

Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers

Published on: October 24, 2018

An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation
10:33

An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation

Published on: February 27, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
11:08

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities

Published on: November 30, 2012

Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers
08:44

Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers

Published on: October 24, 2018

An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation
10:33

An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation

Published on: February 27, 2019

  • Optical characterization to measure the device's response around 1.55 µm for TE polarization.

    • Main Results:

    • A compact (10 μm × 10 μm) thermo-optically tunable silicon PhC light modulator was successfully fabricated.
    • The device demonstrated thermo-optic tuning of the cutoff frequency.
    • Optical characterization confirmed the tunable cutoff frequency shift around 1.55 µm for TE polarization.

    Conclusions:

    • The developed silicon PhC modulator effectively utilizes thermo-optic tuning for light modulation.
    • The compact size and operational principle make it suitable for integrated photonic applications.
    • This work showcases a viable approach for creating tunable silicon photonic devices.