Nanophotonic Pockels modulators on a silicon nitride platform

Area of Science:

• Integrated photonics
• Materials science
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Silicon nitride (SiN) is a promising platform for CMOS-compatible integrated photonics.
• High-performance active devices, particularly modulators, are needed for SiN photonics.
• Existing modulators on SiN often lack sufficient performance metrics like bandwidth and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the first electro-optic modulators utilizing ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films on a silicon nitride (SiN) platform.
• To evaluate the performance of these PZT/SiN modulators in terms of bandwidth, modulation efficiency, and loss.
• To explore the potential of PZT on SiN for advanced integrated photonic applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of electro-optic modulators by integrating ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films onto silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides.
• Characterization of modulator performance, including bandwidth measurements, modulation efficiency (VπL product), and propagation loss.
• Testing across O-band and C-band wavelengths relevant for optical communications.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of the first PZT-based electro-optic modulators on SiN.
• Achieved bandwidths exceeding 33 GHz and data rates of 40 Gbps.
• Measured low propagation losses of approximately 1 dB/cm and a VπL product of 3.2 V·cm.
• Successful operation in both O-band and C-band wavelength ranges.

Conclusions:

• Ferroelectric PZT films on SiN offer a viable route to high-performance electro-optic modulators.
• The demonstrated PZT/SiN modulators exhibit competitive performance metrics for integrated photonics.
• This technology provides a pathway towards advanced, high-speed phase modulators on the SiN platform.