Ultrasensitive Silicon Photonic-crystal Nanobeam Electro-optical Modulator (preprint)

Design and simulation results are presented for an ultralow switching energy, resonator based silicon-on-insulator (SOI) electro-optical modulator. The nanowire waveguide and resonator are seamlessly integrated via a high-transmission tapered 1D photonic crystal cavity waveguide structure. A lateral p-n junction of modulation length ~λ is used to alter the index of refraction through fast carrier depletion. Differential signaling of the device with ∆V ~1Volt allows for a 3dB extinction ratio at telecom wavelengths with an energy cost as low as 19attojoules/bit. 2010 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (230.5298) Photonic crystals; (250.7360) Waveguide modulators; (230.2090) Electro-optical devices. References and links 1. Q. Quan and M. Loncar, “Deterministic design of wavelength scale, ultra-high Q photonic crystal nanobeam cavities,” Opt. Express 19, 18529-18542 (2011). 2. B. Qi, P. Yu, Y. Li, X. Jiang, “Analysis of electrooptic modulator with 1-D slotted photonic crystal nanobeam cavity,” IEEE Photonics Technology Letters 23, 992-994 (2011). 3. V. J. Sorger, “λ-size silicon-based modulator,” invited paper 8629-23, SPIE Proceedings vol. 8629, Silicon Photonics VIII, SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, 5 Feb 2013. 4. Q. Quan, P. B. Deotare, and M. Loncar, “Photonic crystal nanobeam cavity strongly coupled to the feeding waveguide,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 203102 (2010). 5. N.-N. Feng, S. Liao, D. Feng, P. Dong, D. Zheng, H. Liang, R. Shafiiha, G. Li, J. E. Cunningham, A. V. Krishnamoorthy, and M. Asghari, “High speed carrier-depletion modulators with 1.4V-cm VπL integrated on 0.25μm silicon-on-insulator waveguides,” Opt. Express 18, 7994-7999 (2010). 6. M. Nedeljkovic,, R. A. Soref, and G. Z. Mashanovich, “Free-carrier electrorefraction and electroabsorption modulation predictions for silicon over the 1-14 μm infrared wavelength range,” IEEE Photonics Journal 3(6), 1171-1180 ( 2011). 7. M. Nedeljkovic,, R. A. Soref, and G. Z. Mashanovich, “Free-carrier electro-absorption and electrorefraction modulation in group IV materials at mid-infrared wavelengths,” SPIE Photonics West, paper 8266-31, San Jose, CA (25 Jan 2012). 8. D. A. B. Miller, “Energy Consumption in optical modulators for interconnects,” Opt. Express 20, A293A308 (2012). 9. H-C. Liu and A. Yariv, “Designing coupled-resonator optical waveguides based on high-Q tapered gratingdefect resonators,” Opt. Express 20, 9249-9263 (2012). 10. C. Qiu, J. Chen, and Q. Xu, “Ultraprecise measurement of resonance shift for sensing applications,” Opt. Lett. 37, 5012-5014 (2012). 11. R. A. Soref, J. Guo, and G. Sun, “Low-energy MOS depletion modulators in silicon-on-insulator microdonut resonators coupled to bus waveguides,” Opt. Express 19, 18122-18134 (2011). 12. W. S. Fegadolli, J. E. B. Oliveira, V. R. Almeida, and A. Scherer, “Compact and low power consumption tunable photonic crystal nanobeam cavity,” 21, 3861-3871 (2013). 13. W. A. Zortman, A. L. Lentine, D. C. Trotter, and M. R. Watts, “Vertical junction silicon microdisk modulators and switches,” Opt. Express 19, 21989-22003 (2011). 14. W. A. Zortman, A. L. Lentine, D. C. Trotter, and M. R. Watts, “Low-voltage differentially-signaled modulators,” Opt. Express 19, 26017-26026 (2011). 1 Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.