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Updated: May 18, 2026
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Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Compact and fast photonic crystal silicon optical modulators
Hong C Nguyen1, Satoshi Hashimoto, Mizuki Shinkawa
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogayaku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan. hong@ynu.ac.jp
Optics Express
|October 6, 2012
Summary
Researchers developed compact silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) using slow-light waveguides. These devices achieve high-speed operation at 10 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s with significantly reduced lengths.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Integrated Optics
- Semiconductor Devices
Background:
- Silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) are crucial for optical communication.
- Existing MZMs often require large footprints, limiting integration density.
- Photonic crystal waveguides offer unique light manipulation properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate sub-100 μm silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs).
- To achieve high-speed operation (>10 Gb/s) using novel waveguide structures.
- To leverage slow-light phenomena in lattice-shifted photonic crystal waveguides (LSPCWs) for miniaturization.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of two types of LSPCW-MZM structures.
- One structure featured LSPCWs in both MZM arms; the other had an LSPCW in a single arm.
- Characterization of device performance, including operating speed and bandwidth.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated 10 Gb/s operation with a 50 μm phase-shifter length using LSPCWs in both arms.
- Achieved 40 Gb/s operation with a 90 μm phase-shifter length using an LSPCW in one arm.
- The 90 μm device offers an order-of-magnitude reduction in length compared to conventional 40 Gb/s MZMs.
Conclusions:
- Lattice-shifted photonic crystal waveguides enable ultra-compact silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators.
- Slow-light properties facilitate high-speed modulation in significantly reduced device lengths.
- This advancement paves the way for denser and more efficient optical communication systems.
