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Silicon Ring Optical Modulator with p/n Junctions Arranged along Waveguide for Low-Voltage Operation

Yoshiteru Amemiya, Ryuichi Furutani, Masataka Fukuyama, and Shin Yokoyama

(Received September 26, 2011; revised November 30, 2011; accepted December 1, 2011; published online April 20, 2012)

For low-voltage and high-speed operation, a Si ring optical modulator, where p/n junctions are arranged along the waveguide of the ring resonator, is proposed. In this device, a switching speed of over 30 GHz and a modulation of 3 dB are estimated at a low operation voltage of 1 V by simulation. Optimum design parameters are obtained: the carrier concentration is 1×10¹⁸ cm^-3 and the length of the p- and n-type regions is 0.4 µm. The modulators were fabricated and the performance was evaluated. The modulation is 1.25 dB at 6 V, which is lower than the simulated value. This is explained by the unexpected low carrier concentration. It is suggested that the optimization of the fabrication process will yield better performance.

URL: http://jjap.jsap.jp/link?JJAP/51/04DG07/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.51.04DG07

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