Designing an electro-optical encoder based on photonic crystals using the graphene-Al₂O₃ stacks

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Nanotechnology
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Photonic crystals offer unique light manipulation properties.
• Graphene-based materials enable tunable optical responses.
• Efficient optical encoders are crucial for high-speed optical communication systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and simulate a novel electro-optical 4-to-2 encoder.
• To utilize photonic crystals and graphene for optical signal encoding.
• To analyze the performance and characteristics of the proposed encoder.

Main Methods:

• Design of a photonic crystal structure with silicon waveguides and graphene-Al2O3 stacks.
• Simulation of optical wave transmission control via graphene chemical potential.
• Analysis of output power margins for logic 0 and 1.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of the 4-to-2 encoding operation using specific chemical potentials (0.2 eV and 0.8 eV).
• Achieved normalized output power margins of 8.2% for logic 0 and 46.7% for logic 1.
• Proposed structure exhibits a compact footprint of approximately 127 µm² and requires an input optical power intensity of 100 mW/µm².

Conclusions:

• The proposed electro-optical encoder based on photonic crystals and graphene is a viable solution for optical signal processing.
• The device offers efficient encoding capabilities with a small footprint and manageable power requirements.
• This work contributes to the advancement of integrated photonic devices for future optical networks.