Electric-field-induced electro-optic sideband generation on the silicon platform.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Integrated Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Integrated electro-optic (EO) frequency combs on silicon often use carrier dispersion due to silicon's weak nonlinearities.
• This method suffers from complex fabrication and high optical losses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel, junction-free silicon modulator for generating EO frequency combs.
• To characterize the performance of these combs, particularly waveguide propagation loss.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an electric-field-induced method in a junction-free silicon modulator.
• Generated and characterized EO frequency combs with and without DC bias.
• Measured waveguide propagation loss.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated EO frequency combs with four sidebands using the electric-field-induced method.
• Achieved a waveguide propagation loss below 0.42 dB/cm, an order of magnitude improvement.
• Demonstrated EO frequency comb generation without reliance on carrier dispersion.

Conclusions:

• The electric-field-induced method in a junction-free silicon modulator provides a highly efficient route for integrated EO frequency combs.
• This approach significantly reduces propagation loss compared to traditional methods.
• Opens new possibilities for advanced silicon photonic devices.