Fast Electro-optic Modulation Research Articles

Heterogeneous integration of amorphous silicon carbide on thin film lithium niobate

In the past decade, lithium niobate (LiNbO3 or LN) photonics, thanks to its heat-free and fast electro-optical modulation, second-order non-linearities, and low-loss, has been extensively investigated. Despite numerous demonstrations of high-performance LN photonics, processing lithium niobate remains challenging and suffers from incompatibilities with standard complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication lines, limiting its scalability. Silicon carbide (SiC) is an emerging material platform with a high refractive index, a large non-linear Kerr coefficient, and a promising candidate for heterogeneous integration with LN photonics. Current approaches of SiC/LN integration require transfer-bonding techniques, which are time-consuming, expensive, and lack precision in layer thickness. Here, we show that amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC), deposited using inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at low temperatures (<165 °C), can be conveniently integrated with LiNbO3 and processed to form high-performance photonics. Most importantly, the fabrication only involves a standard, silicon-compatible, reactive ion etching step and leaves the LiNbO3 intact, hence its compatibility with standard foundry processes. As a proof-of-principle, we fabricated waveguides and ring resonators on the developed a-SiC/LN platform and achieved intrinsic quality factors higher than 1.06 × 105 and a resonance electro-optic tunability of 3.4 pm/V with a 3 mm tuning length. We showcase the possibility of dense integration by fabricating and testing ring resonators with a 40 μm radius without a noticeable loss penalty. Our platform offers a CMOS-compatible and scalable approach for the implementation of future fast electro-optic modulators and reconfigurable photonic circuits, as well as nonlinear processes that can benefit from involving both second- and third-order nonlinearities.

Polarization modulated spectroscopic ellipsometry-based surface plasmon resonance biosensor for E. coli K12 detection

In this work, we report on the application of the polarization modulated spectroscopic ellipsometry-based surface plasmon resonance method for sensitive detection of microorganisms in Kretschmann configuration. So far, rotating analyzer and single wavelength polarization modulation methods have widely been investigated for phase sensitive surface plasmon resonance measurement. In this study, a much simpler optical setup relying on fast electro-optic phase modulator crystals is introduced for bacteria detection. A beta barium borate crystal connected to a function generator is adapted for generating phase shifts in the millisecond regime to extract the ellipsometric angles (Ψ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Psi$$\\end{document} and Δ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Delta$$\\end{document}) under the surface plasmon resonance condition. For detection, the gold surface was functionalized with anti-Escherichia coli antibodies, and E. coli K12 was attached to them. We show that polarization modulated spectroscopic ellipsometry achieves a refractive index resolution in the order of 10-5\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$10^{-5}$$\\end{document} RIU, and a limit of detection of 102\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$10^{2}$$\\end{document} CFU/mL for E. coli K12 which is compatible with other surface plasmon resonance based phase sensitive methods with more complex detection concepts. As a follow-up step, an optical model can be developed to enhance this biosensor’s performance, and applications for sorting and detecting other biological targets will be investigated.

Push-Pull Heptamethines Near the Cyanine Limit Exhibiting Large Quadratic Electro-Optic Effect.

Harnessing the quadratic electro-optic (QEO) of near-infrared polymethine chromophores over broad telecom wavelength bands is a subject of immense potential but remains largely under-investigated. Hereina series of push-pull heptamethines containing the tricyanofuran (TCF) acceptors and indoline or benzo[e]indoline donors are reported. These dipolar chromophores can attain a highly delocalized "cyanine-like" electronic ground state in solvents spanning a wide range of polarities, in some cases even closer to the ideal polymethine state than symmetrical cyanines.A transmission-mode electromodulation spectroscopy is used to study the electric-field-induced changes in optical absorption and refraction of polymer films doped with heptamethine chromophores, and large and thermally stable QEO effect with high efficiency-loss figure-of-merits that compare favorably to those from dipolar polyenes in poled or unpoled polymers and III-V semiconductors is obtained.The study opens a path for developing organic materials based on cyanine-like merocyanines for complementary metal oxide semiconductor -compatible, fast, efficient, and low-loss electro-optic modulation.

10 Hz Stable Mode-locked Er-Fiber Laser

Abstract: In this paper, a stable output at the reduction repetition rate from 80 MHz mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser (EDFL) was demonstrated by adjusting the operating point for external LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder‎ electro-optic intensity modulator to suppress harmonic mode-locked pulses. More than 70% of the laser beam was launched into the external pigtail Mach-Zehnder intensity modulator using single mode fiber with collimating lens and fiber (ferrule connector) FC adapter. The optimum values of Mach-Zehnder modulator bias voltages V0 and Vπ (half wave voltage) which resulted in maximum and minimum laser output power to leave the modulator were found at 6.5 and 0.29 V, respectively. The best modulation was achieved for the RF modulating signal with an opening time of about 8 ns. For driving voltage equal to Vπ, a clean mode-locked pulse train was generated with a pulse shape and energy similar to the input pulse, albeit with a low repetition rate. The minimum repetition rate reached as low as 10 Hz, resulting in pulse energy and peak power of 0.32 nJ and 1.5 kW, respectively. Second-harmonic generation of the low repetition rate pulse train was also produced by using a PPLN crystal. This opens up the potential for using this laser in single photon detection experiments and as a seed laser for many applications. Keywords: Er-fiber laser, Passively mode-locked fiber laser, Nonlinear polarization rotation, Mach-Zehnder modulator, Fast electro-optic modulator. PACS: Fiber lasers, 42.55.Wd, Mode locking, 42.60.Fc.

High frequency characterization of PZT thin-films deposited by chemical solution deposition on SOI for integrated high speed electro-optic modulators

The increasing demand for high data rates and low power consumption puts silicon photonics at the edge of its capabilities. The heterogeneous integration of optical ferro-electric materials on silicon enhances the functionality of the silicon on insulator (SOI) platform to meet these demands. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with a large Pockels coefficient and good optical quality can be directly integrated on SOI waveguides for fast electro-optic modulators. In this work, the relative permittivity and dielectric loss of PZT thin films deposited by chemical solution deposition on SOI substrates are analyzed at high frequencies. We extract ε r =1650−2129 and tan (δ) = 0.170 − 0.209 for the PZT thin films in the frequency range 1-67GHz. We show the possibility of achieving bandwidths beyond 60GHz via a Mach-Zehnder modulator with V π = 7V, suitable for next generation data communication systems.

Static Permittivity and Electro-Optical Properties of Bi-Component Orthoconic Antiferroelectric Liquid Crystalline Mixtures Targeted for Polymer Stabilized Sensing Systems.

The behavior of two newly formulated bi-component orthoconic antiferroelectric liquid crystalline (OAFLC) systems, i.e., the Compound A + Compound B mixture system and Compound C + Compound B mixture system has been discussed in light of temperature and concentration dependencies of helical pitch length, spontaneous polarization, relaxation time, bulk viscosity, and the anchoring energy strength coefficient, together with static dielectric permittivity (ε) and dielectric anisotropy. Compound A + Compound B mixtures possess spontaneous polarization between 190–340 nC.cm−2 and fast relaxation times between 190–320 µs in the smectic antiferroelectric SmCA* phase at room temperature. Compound C + Compound B mixtures also have a spontaneous polarization in the range of 190–280 nC.cm−2 and relaxation times in the range of 190–230 µs at room temperature. Most of the mixtures have a helical pitch below one micrometer in the SmCA* phase. These advanced mixtures show a broad temperature range of the antiferroelectric SmCA* phase, fast switching of molecules under an applied electric field, negative dielectric anisotropy and a short helical pitch, confirming the advantage of designing new polymer-stabilized OAFLC that is targeted for novel application in sensing devices, utilizing the fast responsive electro-optical modulation elements.

Compact electro-optic modulator on lithium niobate

Fast electro-optic modulators with an ultracompact footprint and low power consumption are always highly desired for optical interconnects. Here we propose and demonstrate a high-performance lithium niobate electro-optic modulator based on a new 2 × 2 Fabry–Perot cavity. In this structure, the input and reflected beams are separated by introducing asymmetric multimode-waveguide gratings, enabling TE 0 − TE 1 mode conversion. The measured results indicate that the fabricated modulator features a low excess loss of ∼ 0.9 dB , a high extinction ratio of ∼ 21 dB , a compact footprint of ∼ 2120 μm 2 , and high modulation speeds of 40 Gbps OOK and 80 Gbps PAM4 signals. The demonstrated modulator is promising for high-speed data transmission and signal processing.

High-responsivity graphene photodetectors integrated on silicon microring resonators

Graphene integrated photonics provides several advantages over conventional Si photonics. Single layer graphene (SLG) enables fast, broadband, and energy-efficient electro-optic modulators, optical switches and photodetectors (GPDs), and is compatible with any optical waveguide. The last major barrier to SLG-based optical receivers lies in the current GPDs’ low responsivity when compared to conventional PDs. Here we overcome this by integrating a photo-thermoelectric GPD with a Si microring resonator. Under critical coupling, we achieve >90% light absorption in a ~6 μm SLG channel along a Si waveguide. Cavity-enhanced light-matter interactions cause carriers in SLG to reach ~400 K for an input power ~0.6 mW, resulting in a voltage responsivity ~90 V/W, with a receiver sensitivity enabling our GPDs to operate at a 10−9 bit-error rate, on par with mature semiconductor technology, but with a natural generation of a voltage, rather than a current, thus removing the need for transimpedance amplification, with a reduction of energy-per-bit, cost, and foot-print.

Efficient self-imaging grating couplers on a lithium-niobate-on-insulator platform at near-visible and telecom wavelengths

Lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) has emerged as a promising platform in the field of integrated photonics. Nonlinear optical processes and fast electro-optic modulation have been reported with outstanding performance in ultra-low loss waveguides. In order to harness the advantages offered by the LNOI technology, suitable fiber-to-chip interconnects operating at different wavelength ranges are demanded. Here we present easily manufacturable, self-imaging apodized grating couplers, featuring a coupling efficiency of the TE0 mode as high as ≃47.1% at λ=1550 nm and ≃44.9% at λ=775 nm. Our approach avoids the use of any metal back-reflector for an improved directivity or multi-layer structures for an enhanced grating strength.

Coupling of waveguide mode and graphene plasmons

Photonic waveguides with graphene layers have been recently studied for their potential as fast and low-power electro-optic modulators with small footprints. We show that in the optical wavelength range of 1.55 μm, surface plasmons supported by the graphene layer with the chemical potential exceeding ~0.5 eV can couple with the waveguide mode and affect its propagation. This effect might be possibly utilized in technical applications as a very low-power amplitude modulation, temperature sensing, etc.

Influence of electro-optic modulator on Er-doped fiber femtosecond laser

Narrow-linewidth femtosecond optical frequency comb plays an important role in the fields, such as optical clock comparison, time frequency transfer, ultrastable microwave generation, absolute distance measurement, high precision spectroscopy, etc. Due to the influence of the lifetime of the upper energy level in the gain medium, the linewidth of Er-fiber combs is generally on the order of several hundred kilohertz. In order to narrow the linewidth of comb teeth, an effective method is to insert a fast response electro-optic modulator (EOM) into the laser cavity, so that the servo bandwidth of fiber comb is extended to several hundred kilohertz, which provides a feedback mechanism for fast servo locking. Among them, a high quality femtosecond laser is the core. Based on this, the influence of the EOM on the parameters of Er-fiber femtosecond laser is studied in this paper. By calculating the refractive index, group velocity dispersion, and phase delay of the electro-optic crystal, the influence of the introduction of the EOM on the laser performance is analyzed. A LiNbO<sub>3</sub> (LN) crystal with a length of 3 mm and <i>x</i>-cut is selected as the EOM and inserted into the laser cavity. The influence of the applied voltage of the EOM on the repetition rate and carrier envelope offset frequency of the laser are obtained experimentally. When the voltage on the LN crystal changes from -200 to 200 V, the adjustment of repetition rate is 60 Hz and the carrier envelope offset frequency is 25 MHz. Then the two parameters are phase locked through the EOM. Furthermore, by phase locking the beat note between the fiber comb and a narrow-linewidth continue wavelength laser at 1542 nm, it is verified that the introduction of the EOM can expand the servo bandwidth of the laser to more than 236 kHz, which provides a technical basis for establishing narrow linewidth femtosecond optical frequency combs. The following work will verify the performance of comb line, that is, when the comb is locked to a narrow-linewidth laser (such as 1542 nm), the performance of comb line at wavelength (such as 698, 729 nm, and so on) of distant place will be analyzed in detail.

Silicon–germanium receivers for short-wave-infrared optoelectronics and communications

Abstract Integrated silicon nanophotonics has rapidly established itself as intriguing research field, whose outlets impact numerous facets of daily life. Indeed, nanophotonics has propelled many advances in optoelectronics, information and communication technologies, sensing and energy, to name a few. Silicon nanophotonics aims to deliver compact and high-performance components based on semiconductor chips leveraging mature fabrication routines already developed within the modern microelectronics. However, the silicon indirect bandgap, the centrosymmetric nature of its lattice and its wide transparency window across optical telecommunication wavebands hamper the realization of essential functionalities, including efficient light generation/amplification, fast electro-optical modulation, and reliable photodetection. Germanium, a well-established complement material in silicon chip industry, has a quasi-direct energy band structure in this wavelength domain. Germanium and its alloys are thus the most suitable candidates for active functions, i.e. bringing them to close to the silicon family of nanophotonic devices. Along with recent advances in silicon–germanium-based lasers and modulators, short-wave-infrared receivers are also key photonic chip elements to tackle cost, speed and energy consumption challenges of exponentially growing data traffics within next-generation systems and networks. Herein, we provide a detailed overview on the latest development in nanophotonic receivers based on silicon and germanium, including material processing, integration and diversity of device designs and arrangements. Our Review also emphasizes surging applications in optoelectronics and communications and concludes with challenges and perspectives potentially encountered in the foreseeable future.

Silicon waveguides with graphene: coupling of waveguide mode to surface plasmons

Silicon waveguides with graphene layers have been recently intensively studied for their potential as fast and low-power electro-optic modulators with small footprints. In this paper we show that in the optical wavelength range of 1.55 μm, surface plasmons supported by the graphene layer with the chemical potential exceeding ∼0.5 eV can couple with the guided mode of the silicon waveguide and affect its propagation. On the other hand, this effect might be possibly utilized in technical applications like a very low-power amplitude modulation, temperature sensing, etc.

Experimental control of the degree of non-classicality via quantum coherence

The origin of non-classicality in physical systems and its connection to distinctly quantum features such as entanglement and coherence is a central question in quantum physics. This work analyses this question theoretically and experimentally, linking quantitatively non-classicality with quantum coherence. On the theoretical front, we show when the coherence of an observable is linearly related to the degree of violation of the Kolmogorov condition, which quantifies the deviation from any classical (non-invasive) explanation of the multi-time statistics. Experimentally, we probe this connection between coherence and non-classicality in a time-multiplexed optical quantum walk. We demonstrate exquisite control of quantum coherence of the walker by varying the degree of coherent superposition effected by the coin, and we show a concomitant variation in the degree of non-classicality of the walker statistics, which can be accessed directly by virtue of the unprecedented control on the measurement-induced effects obtained via fast programmable electro-optic modulators.

Research progress of photonics devices on lithium-niobate-on-insulator thin films

<sec> Lithium niobate (LiNbO<sub>3</sub>, LN) crystals have excellent electro-optical and nonlinear optical properties, and they have been regarded as one of the most promising materials for constructing the multifunctional photonic integrated systems. Due to the excellent optical properties of LN crystal, the emerging LN thin film technology has received great attention in the research of integrated photonics in recent years. With the help of advanced micro-nano fabrication technologies, many high-performance lithium niobate integrated photonic devices have been realized. </sec><sec> Integrated photonic platform can incorporate high-density, multi-functional optical components, micro-nano photonics structures, and optical materials on a monolithic substrate, which can flexibly implement a variety of photonic functions. At the same time, it also provides a low-cost, small-size, and scalable solution for miniaturizing and integrating the free-space optical systems. Photonic chips based on LN have been widely used in fast electro-optic modulation, nonlinear optical frequency conversion and frequency comb generation. In particular, periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) based on quasi-phase matching has gradually become a mature integrated photonic platform and has been widely used in the field of nonlinear optics.</sec><sec> As wafer bonding technology is matured, the lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) thin films made by the “smart-cut” process have been commercialized. The thickness of the LN film on a Si or SiO<sub>2</sub> substrate can reach several hundred nanometers, and good uniformity in film thickness at a larger size (3 inches) can be ensured. With the development of micro-nano fabrication technologies, the quality and functions of photonic devices on LNOI chips have been significantly improved in recent years, and research on integrated photonic devices based on LNOI has also been developed rapidly in recent years.</sec><sec> In this article we briefly review the development of LNOI technology, introducing the applications of several advanced micro-nano fabrication techniques and summarizing their applications in the micro-/nano-fabrication of on-chip photonic devices based on LNOI wafers. In addition, in this article we also summarize the latest advances in the functionality of LNOI on-chip photonic devices and give a short prospective on their future applications in integrated photonics.</sec>

Microsecond Electro-Optic Switching of Nematic Liquid Crystals with Giant Dielectric Anisotropy

Nematic liquid crystals exhibit a fast optical response when the applied electric field modifies the degree of order but does not change the direction of molecular orientation. The effect requires a relatively high electric field, on the order of 10^8 V/m for a field induced birefringence change of 0.01. To address this detrimental issue, this work explores electrically induced modification of the order parameter in a material with a giant dielectric anisotropy of +200. A relatively weak field 3X10^7 V/m causes a significant change of birefringence, by about 0.04. Both switching on and off times are ~10 microseconds. The effect is called a microsecond electrically modified order parameter (MEMOP) and can be used in electro-optical devices, such as fast electro-optic shutters, phase modulators, and beam-steerers that require microsecond response times.

Electro-optic glass for light modulators

Electro-optic glass for light modulatorsLight modulators are important for processing of optical signals. Electro-optic modulators allow to control and influence the phase, frequency, amplitude, or polarization of the passing beam. Optical materials with a sufficiently high electro-optic coefficient are needed for construction of efficient and fast electro-optic modulators operating in the VIS and NIR regions. Heavy-metal oxide glasses based on the PbO-Bi2O3-Ga2O3 system represent a system with the highest non-linear optical susceptibility among oxide materials. Glass samples of PbO-Bi2O3-Ga2O3 system and those with addition of Ag2O and Sb2O3 were prepared by melt quenching. Thermal properties of the prepared materials were investigated using differential thermal analysis. Optical properties were studied using optical spectroscopy in the UV-VIS-IR region of the spectrum. The glasses are transparent from 550 nm up to 7.4 μm. The maximum of the refractive index determined by M-line spectroscopy was found at 473 nm and is equal to 2.49. The electro-optic coefficient was calculated from the rotation angle of polarized light passing through the sample to which a high voltage of 5 to 30 kV was applied. The obtained values of the electro-optic coefficient allow for using these glasses to construct efficient intensity or phase modulators using the electro-optic effect.

Molecular relaxation of components of LC mixture 2f- 3333 (ROLIC) for dual- frequency electrooptic shutters

ABSTRACTDual-frequency liquid crystal materials are used in fast response electrooptic modulators in different devices for digital information displaying and processing. In an NLC mixture 2f-3333 (ROLIC, Switzerland) there are components with lateral dipole moment. Their molecular relaxation is investigated by a method of dielectric spectroscopy. Values of relaxation time and its activation energy, molecular friction coefficient, rotational diffusion are obtained. They are compared with data obtained by other methods like LC viscosimetry.

Integrated silicon nitride electro-optic modulators with atomic layer deposited overlays.

Silicon nitride (SiN) is currently the most prominent CMOS-compatible platform for photonics at wavelengths <1 μm. However, realizing fast electro-optic (EO) modulators, the key components of any integrated optics platform, remains challenging in SiN. Modulators based on the plasma dispersion effect, as in silicon, are not available. Despite the fact that significant second-harmonic generation has been reported for silicon-rich SiN, no efficient Pockels effect-based modulators have been demonstrated. Here we report the back-end CMOS-compatible atomic layer deposition (ALD) of conventional second-order nonlinear crystals, zinc oxide, and zinc sulfide, on existing SiN waveguide circuits. Using these ALD overlays, we demonstrate EO modulation in ring resonators.

Conversion of light polarisation in asymmetric plasmonic waveguides

Hybrid plasmonic waveguides with an embedded conducting oxide layer can be used for producing fast and compact electro-optical modulation devices. However, due to constraints, which plasmon modes impose on light polarisation, modulators of this class are not compatible with high-efficiency modern diffraction gratings used for coupling light into a waveguide. In the present work we demonstrate how a simple structuring of a modulation sandwich makes it possible to produce a compact polarisation converter that eliminates the mentioned incompatibility.