Single waveguide silicon-organic hybrid modulator

• Published in: Advances in radio science Vol. 15; pp. 141 - 147
• Main Authors: Hoppe, Niklas, Rothe, Christian, Celik, Arda, Rosa, María Félix, Vogel, Wolfgang, Widmann, Daniel, Rathgeber, Lotte, Ruiz Delgado, M. Carmen, Villacampa, Belén, Ludwigs, Sabine, Berroth, Manfred
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 21-09-2017; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Chromophores; Cladding; Customization; Design and construction; Electric fields; Modulators (Electronics); Molecular structure; Optical properties; Optics; Polymers; Prototypes; Silicon; Waveguides
• ISSN: 1684-9973; 1684-9965; 1684-9973
• DOI: 10.5194/ars-15-141-2017

We present a novel silicon-organic hybrid modulator based on an integrated dual-mode interferometer. The modulator offers a compact, simplified design and enhanced robustness to on-chip fluctuations of temperature compared to conventional Mach-Zehnder based systems. A prototype modulator showing a voltage dependent transmission spectrum is obtained by cladding a dual-mode waveguide in a 250 nm silicon-on-insulator technology with a customized organic electro-optic layer. Estimated phase shifts and corresponding figures of merit are discussed in this contribution. The used organic layer is based on the guest-host approach with customized donor-π-acceptor chromophore embedded and poled in a poly(methylmethacrylate) matrix. The presented prototype is to the best of the authors' knowledge the first integrated single waveguide silicon-organic hybrid modulator.