Open AccessEngineering a sandwiched Si/I/LNOI structure for 180-GHz-bandwidth electro-optic modulator with fabrication tolerances
Author(s) -
Jing Wang,
Haoru Yang,
Weiwen Zou
Publication year - 2022
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.470212
Subject(s) - materials science , lithium niobate , fabrication , optical modulator , optoelectronics , bandwidth (computing) , photonic integrated circuit , optics , photonics , electro optic modulator , phase modulation , computer science , telecommunications , medicine , alternative medicine , physics , pathology , phase noise
Electro-optical modulators are essential for scalable photonic integrated circuits and are promising for many applications. The convergence of silicon (Si) and lithium niobate (LN) allows for a compact device footprint and large-scale integration of modulators. We propose a sandwiched Si/I/LNOI modulator for broad modulation with CMOS-compatible fabrication tolerances. There is a thin film SiO 2 spacer sandwiched between Si and LN, which is engineered to tailor optical and electrical properties and enhance index matching. Moreover, the SiO 2 spacer is also exploited to inhibit the radiation loss induced by mode coupling. The modulator shows a bandwidth of ∼180 GHz with a halfwave voltage of 3 V. Such a device is considerably robust to the fabrication deviations, making it promising for massive and stable manufacturing.