Plate-slot polymer waveguide modulator on silicon-on-insulator

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Electro-optic (EO) modulators are crucial for converting electrical signals to optical signals.
• High-speed optical interconnects require efficient and low-power EO modulators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate novel EO modulators using an EO polymer on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates.
• To achieve low-driving voltage and large bandwidth modulation for optical interconnects.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and ring resonator modulators.
• Embedding an EO polymer within a Si and TiO2 slot structure.
• Design for high TM mode confinement and low propagation loss.

Main Results:

• MZI modulator achieved a π-voltage-length product of 0.66 V·cm and a 3-dB bandwidth of 31 GHz.
• Ring modulator demonstrated resonant tunability of 0.065 nm/V and a 3-dB modulation bandwidth up to 13 GHz.
• Effective EO properties and low propagation loss were achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed EO polymer modulators on SOI are suitable for high-speed optical interconnects.
• The device design enables efficient electrical to optical conversion with low driving voltage.
• The demonstrated performance highlights the potential of EO polymers in photonic devices.