Mach–Zehnder modulator based on tapered waveguide and carrier plasma dispersion in photonic crystal

Chen, Heming, Hu, Yuchen, Xiang, Tong

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For Russian citation (Opticheskii Zhurnal):

Yuchen Hu, Heming Chen, Tong Xiang Mach–Zehnder modulator based on tapered waveguide and carrier plasma dispersion in photonic crystal (Модулятор Маха–Цендера, использующий дисперсию в плазме носителей заряда в суженном фотонно-кристаллическом волноводе) [на англ. яз.] // Оптический журнал. 2021. Т. 88. № 5. С. 23–35. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2021-88-05-23-35

Yuchen Hu, Heming Chen, Tong Xiang Mach–Zehnder modulator based on tapered waveguide and carrier plasma dispersion in photonic crystal (Модулятор Маха–Цендера, использующий дисперсию в плазме носителей заряда в суженном фотонно-кристаллическом волноводе) [in English] // Opticheskii Zhurnal. 2021. V. 88. № 5. P. 23–35. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2021-88-05-23-35

For citation (Journal of Optical Technology):

Y. C. Hu, H. M. Chen, and T. Xiang, "Mach–Zehnder modulator based on a tapered waveguide and carrier plasma dispersion in photonic crystal," Journal of Optical Technology. 88(5), 242-251 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1364/JOT.88.000242

Abstract:

Electro-optic modulators with wide bandwidth and low loss are necessary as the demand for high-speed integrated communication systems increases. We propose a Mach–Zehnder modulator based on photonic crystal. A tapered structure based on photonic crystal is introduced to suppress the cascading loss between the nanowire waveguide and photonic crystal waveguide at input and output. We designed and optimized a photonic crystal bent waveguide to reduce the reflection loss at each corner. The parameters of the Mach–Zehnder modulator are calculated using the threedimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The numerical results show that the insertion loss and extinction ratio at the operating wavelength of 1550 nm are 0.22 and 15.2 dB respectively. The 3 dB bandwidth can reach up to 72 GHz. This Mach–Zehnder modulator has the advantages of low loss and small size (47.8×11.6×0.22 μm), which can be applied in photonic integrated systems.

Keywords:

photonic crystal, modulator, multimode interference coupling, optics

Acknowledgements:

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant numbers 61571237 and 61077084; the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China under Grant number BK20151509; and Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province Plans to Graduate Research and Innovation under Grant number KYCX18_0843.

OCIS codes: 130.3120, 130.5296, 130.4110

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