Electro-optic Waveguide Modulators Research Articles

Transparent conducting oxide electro-optic modulators on silicon platforms: A comprehensive study based on the drift-diffusion semiconductor model

Electro-optic waveguide modulators exploiting the carrier-induced epsilon-near-zero effect in transparent conducting oxides are comprehensively studied and evaluated using a rigorous multi-physics modeling framework. The examined amplitude modulators integrate indium tin oxide with two representative examples of the silicon-on-insulator technology, the silicon-rib and silicon-slot platform, with the latter design exhibiting superior performance, featuring μm modulation lengths, switching speeds exceeding 100 GHz, and a sub-pJ per bit of energy consumption. The effect of free carriers is rigorously introduced by combining the drift-diffusion model for the description of the carrier dynamics with near-infrared carrier-dependent permittivity models, leading to a seamless and physically consistent integration of solid-state physics and Maxwell wave theory on a unified finite-element platform.

Efficiently poled electro-optic polymer modulators.

A titanium dioxide (TiO2) / electro-optic (EO) polymer hybrid waveguide modulator was designed and fabricated. This modulator possessed a significant advantage for realizing high poling efficiency regardless of the EO polymer resistivity. The in-device EO coefficient was measured to be 100 pm/V, which was 32% higher than that of the thin polymer film. As a result, the phase modulator displayed a VπL figure of merit of 3.5 V∙cm at 1550 nm, which can be reduced further in a push-pull Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure. Temporal stability test of the modulator at 85°C indicated only 8% change of Vπ over 500 hours. The propagation loss in the waveguide was measured as ~3 dB/cm.

Algorithmic Enhancement of Spectral Resolution of a LiNbO3 Waveguide-Based Miniature Fourier Transform Spectrometer.

In a recent report we demonstrated a miniature static Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) that was implemented with a LiNbO3 (LN) waveguide electro-optic modulator (EOM) combined with the dispersion relation between its half-wave voltage and wavelength. The FTS was verified to be able to measure laser wavelength and for low-resolution spectroscopy. In this report, we successfully applied the resolution enhancement algorithm to the FTS, resulting in at least a three-fold increase in its spectral resolution without causing obvious distortion of the measured spectra. The algorithm method used is based on an autoregressive (AR) model, singular value decomposition (SVD), and forward-backward linear prediction (FBLP). The combination of these methods allows the FTS to remain a small size but to possess good spectral resolution, effectively mitigating the conflict between the small size and high resolution of the device. This study opens the way to development of high-resolution miniature FTS.

Hybrid and Etch-Less Electrooptic Waveguide Modulator Based on Photo-Bleaching and Strain Induced Optical Waveguide Technique in Polymer

A hybrid and etchless electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide modulator based on both a photo-bleaching-induced optical waveguide (PBOW) and a strain-induced optical waveguide (SIOW) is described. The SIOW is defined by a metal strip line stressor deposited on top of the upper cladding that introduces the refractive index change within the core region. The PBOW technique is used to form an optical waveguide which is based on a photo-bleaching process, known as a photo-oxidation that is an irreversible decomposition of EO material, resulting in a permanent decrease in index of refraction. It is shown that this proposed fabrication idea combining two etchless techniques can be applicable to a wide range of polymer photonic integrated circuits. Preliminary results obtained from fabricated devices reveal that their half-wave voltage are ranging from 8 V to 10 V, their extinction ratio exhibits more than 15 dB, and the fiber-to-waveguide-to-lens loss is estimated to be ~9.5 dB for TM polarization at 1.55/m wavelength in the active interaction of ~1.5 cm long.

Ultra-thin silicon/electro-optic polymer hybrid waveguide modulators

Ultra-thin silicon and electro-optic (EO) polymer hybrid waveguide modulators have been designed and fabricated. The waveguide consists of a silicon core with a thickness of 30 nm and a width of 2 μm. The cladding is an EO polymer. Optical mode calculation reveals that 55% of the optical field around the silicon extends into the EO polymer in the TE mode. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator was prepared using common coplanar electrodes. The measured half-wave voltage of the MZI with 7 μm spacing and 1.3 cm long electrodes is 4.6 V at 1550 nm. The evaluated EO coefficient is 70 pm/V, which is comparable to that of the bulk EO polymer film. Using ultra-thin silicon is beneficial in order to reduce the side-wall scattering loss, yielding a propagation loss of 4.0 dB/cm. We also investigated a mode converter which couples light from the hybrid EO waveguide into a strip silicon waveguide. The calculation indicates that the coupling loss between these two devices is small enough to exploit the potential fusion of a hybrid EO polymer modulator together with a silicon micro-photonics device.

Theoretical Feasibility Demonstration for Over 100 GHz Electro-Optic Modulators With c-Axis Grown BaTiO <sub>3</sub> Crystal Thin-Films

Single-channel 100 GHz and higher bandwidth external optical modulators are dramatically demanded to realize the aggregate carrier data rate of 100 Tb/s per optic-fiber in next-generation optical networks, but the current technologies used in industrial systems have never shown any feasibility to reach such high-speed operations. In this study, the feasible potential of ultrahigh bandwidths higher than 100 GHz are theoretically demonstrated for waveguide electro-optic (EO) modulators with c-axis-oriented BaTiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> crystal thin-films. As the three dominant factors of determining the bandwidths of EO modulators, the interaction length L, the absolute refractive difference of light-wave and microwave |N <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">m</sub> -N <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">o</sub> | determining the velocity mismatch, and the microwave loss coefficient are investigated to realize the ultrahigh bandwidths of over 100 GHz, where L is a weight factor of both the velocity mismatch and the microwave loss. Thus, in this process, the nonlinear EO modulation effects are taken into account to determine the L values with respect to the values of EO coefficient r <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">51</sub> under a given half-wave voltage V <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">π</sub> . Then, the optimal tradeoff conditions for the over 100 GHz bandwidths are obtained with the consistent relations among the interaction length, the optical loss, the electrode gap, and the overlap integral of optical and electrical fields, the refractive index difference between the optical guidedmode and the microwave. As a result, for an industrial acceptable V <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">π</sub> of 5.0 V and a feasible absolute birefringence b <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">eo</sub> of 0.005, at the EO coefficient r <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">51</sub> values of over 550 pm/V an optimal device in both optical rib waveguide and microwave electrode dimensions shows the illustrative results of over 100 GHz bandwidth in the believable simulations albeit both the velocity mismatch and the microwave loss are taken into account in simulations under a microwave impedance matching, which are all reachable in the real c-axis BaTiO3 crystal thin-film.

Photonic quadrature-wave pulses generated by a single electro-optic waveguide modulator for digital transmission

The operation of an electro-optic modulator is described in the frequency domain through parametric interactions mixing optical and microwave photons. A single electro-optic waveguide generates quadrature-wave pulses through the second-order parametric conversion of photons induced by a baseband Fourier microwave (RF) spectrum. The peak amplitude of the optical pulse is obtained from the input amplitude of an unmodulated pump by means of a phasor-like conversion. The physical frequency chirp or the temporal distribution of the spectrum is brought about by the parametric phase evolution and is not related to the time derivative of the output pulse.

Recent advances in polymer electro-optic modulators

Development of polymer EO modulators.

End-face reflected LiNbO3 waveguide based stationary miniature Fourier transform spectrometer with two-fold enhanced spectral resolution

Miniature Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) has attracted considerable interest because of its important application in spaceborne spectroscopy and as a portable analytical tool for rapid on-site chemical/biochemical detection. In a previous paper, a stationary miniature FTS constructed with an electro-optic (EO) modulator of a LiNbO3 (LN) waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) containing push-pull electrodes was demonstrated. This stationary miniature FTS is operated in the near-infrared region with either nonlinear or linear scanning of the modulating voltage. The simple and mirrorless structure renders the device compact, vibration resistant, and cost-effective. However, the spectral resolution of the proposed prototype FTS was not satisfactory due to the limited optical pathlength difference (OPD), thereby limiting the device application. To improve its spectral resolution, the factors affecting the spectral resolution of the LN waveguide-based FTS is investigated in this paper. Findings show that the spectral resolution is inversely proportional to the maximum OPD, which is proportional to the length of the EO modulating region. A simple method for two-fold enhancement of the spectral resolution of the FTS is proposed based on the end-face reflection in LN waveguide interferometer. With the end-face reflection geometry the guided mode can propagate back and forth in the LN waveguide, making the mode passing through the EO modulating region twice and consequently leading to two times enhancement of the OPD. Therefore, the end-face reflection geometry enables to double the maximum OPD of the interferometer without increasing the device size and thus to offer the device a two-fold enhanced spectral resolution according to the equation for FTS resolution. Two prototypes of FTS with and without the end-face reflection structure are prepared using the same commercial LN waveguide EO modulator. The spectral resolutions in terms of the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) at different wavelengths for the two prototypes of FTS are measured using a series of distributed feedback lasers. The FWHM measured at a specific wavelength with the end-face reflection structure is half as large as that obtained without the end-face reflection structure. Experimental results are in excellent agreement with the theoretical data, demonstrating the applicability of the end-face reflection method to the spectral resolution enhancement.

Mesoporous sol-gel silica cladding for hybrid TiO2/electro-optic polymer waveguide modulators.

We report the efficient poling of an electro-optic (EO) polymer in a hybrid TiO(2)/electro-optic polymer multilayer waveguide modulator on mesoporous sol-gel silica cladding. The mesoporous sol-gel silica has nanometer-sized pores and a low refractive index of 1.24, which improves mode confinement in the 400-nm-thick EO polymer film in the modulators and prevents optical absorption from the lower Au electrode, thereby resulting in a lower half-wave voltage of the modulators. The half-wave voltage (Vπ) of the hybrid modulator fabricated on the mesoporous sol-gel silica cladding is 6.0 V for an electrode length (Le) of 5 mm at a wavelength of 1550 nm (VπLe product of 3.0 V·cm) using a low-index guest-host EO polymer (in-device EO coefficient of 75 pm/V).

Design and Fabrication of BaTiO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; Crystal Thin-Film Waveguides

BaTiO3 crystal film has the very high electro-optic effect, so it has important research value for thin film waveguide electro-optic modulators. In this work, BPM software is used to simulate the single-mode condition of ridge waveguide at first, then BaTiO3 film waveguide structure is designed with suitable film thickness.BaTiO3 waveguide thin films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on single crystal MgO substrate. The BaTiO3 thin-film crystalline structures grown at different temperature sand different laser powers were analyzed by using X ray diffraction , which showed the BaTiO3 films have a priority crystallization direction and good crystallization quality at 750°C grown temperature. For the optimally-designed waveguide structures, the PECVD technique and ICP plasma etching method are employed to coat and etch Si3N4 films, respectively. Through the optimization of main process parameters, 60 sccm reaction gas flow and 150 nm/min etching speed are finally selected to create the ridge waveguides, and consequently, the surface roughness of Si3N4 film waveguide reaches 2.3 nm.

A Silicon-Polymer Hybrid Modulator—Design, Simulation and Proof of Principle

Optimal dimensions are found for the silicon waveguide in an electro-optic (EO) polymer cladding-based silicon waveguide modulator. The confinement factor as well as the effective index of the mode are taken into account. The influence of the coplanar electrode spacing and electrode height on performance are examined and a figure of merit formula for choosing the optimal device geometry is shown. The design space for both 1550 nm and 1310 nm wavelengths is explored. With the optimal 275 nm waveguide width and 4 μm electrode spacing, a Vπ of a few volts can be achieved even with moderate r33 EO polymers. Experimental results on a fabricated modulator are shown and compared with the predicted performance.

Electro-optic polymer waveguide modulator based on the Pockels and Kerr effects

An electro-optic polymer waveguide modulator based on both Pockels and Kerr effects has been demonstrated. A conjugated polymer, poly (9,9-dioctyl-2,7-fluorene-co-benzo [c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-co-9-hexyl-3,6-carbazole), which has the delocalization of p-electrons and a push-pull structure along the main conjugated chain, exhibits the Pockels effect and still maintains the Kerr effect after corona-poling. By applying a direct current (DC) bias, the optical output of the modulator is roughly linearly to a modulation voltage, and the modulation depth is improved with the DC bias at fixed modulation voltage. The proposed modulator achieves a 2.18% modulation depth with 5 V p-p modulation triangular voltage and 90 V DC bias at 100 kHz by employing both the Pockels effect and Kerr effect.

Narrow linewidth comb realized with a mode-locked fiber laser using an intra-cavity waveguide electro-optic modulator for high-speed control

We have developed an optical frequency comb using a mode-locked fiber ring laser with an intra-cavity waveguide electro-optic modulator controlling the optical length in the laser cavity. The mode-locking is achieved with a simple ring configuration and a nonlinear polarization rotation mechanism. The beat note between the laser and a reference laser and the carrier envelope offset frequency of the comb were simultaneously phase locked with servo bandwidths of 1.3 MHz and 900 kHz, respectively. We observed an out-of-loop beat between two identical combs, and obtained a coherent δ-function peak with a signal to noise ratio of 70 dB/Hz.

Optimized half-wave voltage and insertion loss in a strip-loaded waveguide electro-optic polymer modulator

A strip-loaded waveguide, electro-optic modulator was designed and analyzed in terms of single mode conditions, optical loss due to the metal electrodes, modulation efficiency, and mode size. Two designs were compared: Design 1 optimized the half-wave voltage (V(π)=1.1 V) with a nearly symmetric waveguide by maximizing modulation efficiency and minimizing the overall thickness of the waveguide; Design 2 optimized the insertion loss by reducing coupling loss by 4.6 dB via a strongly asymmetric waveguide that maximizes the overall mode size to most efficiently overlap with a single mode fiber. Design 2 also has a favorable half-wave voltage (V(π)=1.75 V). Some general guidelines in the selection of cladding layers in a detailed design of a poled-polymer electro-optic modulator incorporating a strip-loaded waveguide structure are suggested.

DNA biopolymer conductive cladding for polymer electro-optic waveguide modulators

A deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biopolymer has been studied for use as a conductive cladding layer in polymer electro-optic (EO) waveguide modulators due to its low optical loss and high electrical conductivity relative to its inorganic polymer counterparts. Electric field contact poling measurements using a DNA biopolymer cladding layer with an amorphous polycarbonate/chromophore (APC/CLD1) guest-host system core layer have been made and compared to a UV15 cladding layer. Using the EO coefficient of APC/CLD1 with no cladding layer as a baseline, the DNA biopolymer cladding layer yielded relative poling efficiencies of 96% while the UV15 poling efficiencies were only 51%.

Electro-optic polymer infiltrated silicon photonic crystal slot waveguide modulator with 23 dB slow light enhancement

A silicon/organic hybrid modulator integrating photonic crystal (PC) waveguide, 75 nm slot, and electro-optic (EO) polymer is experimentally demonstrated. Slow light in PC waveguide and strong field confinement in slot waveguide enable ultraefficient EO modulation with a record-low Vπ×L of 0.56 V mm and an in-device effective r33 of 132 pm/V. This result makes it the most efficient EO polymer modulator demonstrated to date. The modulated signal shows strong wavelength dependence and peak enhancement of 23 dB near the band edge of defect mode, which confirms the signature of the slow light effect.

Bias-free electro-optic polymer-based two-section Y-branch waveguide modulator with 22 dB linearity enhancement

A bias-free two-section Y-branch directional coupler modulator with high linearity based on domain-inverted modulation is fabricated and tested. 25 wt.% AJLS102/APC is used as an active core layer with an experimentally confirmed device r(33) value of 56 pm/V at 1.59 microm. The fabricated device shows an extinction voltage of 4 V. A two-tone test is performed to demonstrate 64 dB distortion suppression at 25% modulation depth, which is 22 dB higher than a conventional Mach-Zehnder modulator.

Modulation efficiency of a LiNbO_3 waveguide electro-optic intensity modulator operating at high microwave frequency

The modulation efficiency, at high-frequency microwave modulation, of a LiNbO(3) waveguide electro-optic modulator is shown to be degraded severely, especially when it is used as a frequency translator in a Brillouin-distributed fiber-sensing system. We derive an analytical expression for this attenuation regarding the phase-velocity mismatch and the impedance mismatch during the modulation process. Theoretical results are confirmed by experimental results based on a 15 Gb/s LiNbO(3) optical intensity modulator.

High Δn strip-loaded electro-optic polymer waveguide modulator with low insertion loss

We demonstrate a novel electro-optic polymer modulator design which shows a record low optical insertion loss of 5.7 dB at 1550 nm. The modulator consists of a high numerical aperture passive waveguide which is converted to a strip-loaded electro-optic polymer waveguide through refractive index tapers. The device is fabricated using all wet-etch techniques which results in low excess loss from roughness created during fabrication and, employs new low loss passive sol-gel materials. The fabricated device also shows a low half-wave voltage of 2.8 V.