Open AccessHigh-efficiency strip-loaded waveguide based silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator with vertical p-n junction phase shifter
Author(s) -
Yuriko Maegami,
Guangwei Cong,
Morifumi Ohno,
Makoto Okano,
K. Itoh,
Nobuhiko Nishiyama,
Shigehisa Arai,
Koji Yamada
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.031407
Subject(s) - materials science , silicon on insulator , optoelectronics , mach–zehnder interferometer , optics , phase shift module , silicon , waveguide , insertion loss , electro optic modulator , etching (microfabrication) , silicon photonics , phase modulation , layer (electronics) , optical modulator , interferometry , physics , nanotechnology , phase noise
We demonstrate a silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) strip-loaded waveguides on a silicon on insulator (SOI) platform, which can be fabricated by using a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible process without half etching of the SOI layer. Constructing a vertical p-n junction in a flat etchless SOI layer provides superior controllability and uniformity of carrier profiles. Moreover, the waveguide structure based on a thin a-Si:H strip line can be fabricated easily and precisely. Thanks to a large overlap between the depletion region and optical field in the SOI layer with a vertical p-n junction, the MZM provides 0.80- to 1.86-Vcm modulation efficiency and a 12.1- to 16.9-dBV loss-efficiency product, besides guaranteeing a 3-dB bandwidth of about 17 GHz and 28-Gbps high-speed operation. The αV π L is considerably lower than that of conventional high-speed modulators.