Low voltage 12 GHz silicon optical electro-absorption modulator (EAM) using a Schottky diode for optical interconnectors in the C-band

Uiseok Jeong; Kwangwoong Kim; Kyungwoon Lee; Jinsik Kim; Jung Ho Park

doi:10.1117/12.2542479

26 February 2020 Low voltage 12 GHz silicon optical electro-absorption modulator (EAM) using a Schottky diode for optical interconnectors in the C-band

Uiseok Jeong, Kwangwoong Kim, Kyungwoon Lee, Jinsik Kim, Jung Ho Park

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11285, Silicon Photonics XV; 112851L (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2542479
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

A silicon optical electro-absorption modulator (EAM) operating at a high speed and low voltage was achieved by using a Schottky diode in the C-band (1530 nm ~ 1570 nm). The optical modulation is demonstrated by the intensity change of guiding light due to the free-carrier absorption in the semiconductor to change its absorption coefficient, not conventional interference effects. The proposed EAM has lateral metal-semiconductor (MS) junctions that aid in maximizing the free carrier injection and extraction by a Schottky contact on the rib waveguide center. The rib waveguide structure of the modulator on the standard 220-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform has an etch depth of 80 nm and a width of 450 nm for the single-mode operation. The center of the rib waveguide is lightly doped with 1015 cm-3 indium, where light is mostly confined. The sides are heavily doped with 1020 cm-3 indium to contribute to the optical absorption change in the center. The depletion width in the middle region was drastically changed by a Schottky contact with bias. This design allowed a high overlap between the optical mode and carrier density variations in the center of the waveguide. To achieve a high speed operation, the travelling-wave type electrodes were designed to allow copropagation of electrical and optical signals along the waveguide. The measured results demonstrated a broad operational wavelength range of 40 nm with a uniform 3.9 dB modulation depth for a compact 25 μm modulation length with 1 Vpp driving voltage. The travelling-wave type electrodes enabled the modulator operating up to 26 GHz with 12 GHz of 3-dB electrooptic bandwidth, experimentally.

Citation Download Citation

Uiseok Jeong, Kwangwoong Kim, Kyungwoon Lee, Jinsik Kim, and Jung Ho Park "Low voltage 12 GHz silicon optical electro-absorption modulator (EAM) using a Schottky diode for optical interconnectors in the C-band", Proc. SPIE 11285, Silicon Photonics XV, 112851L (26 February 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2542479

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
8 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Modulators

Silicon

Waveguides

Modulation

Diodes

Absorption

Electrodes

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years