Silicon modulator based on mechanically-active anti-reflection layer with 1 mbit/sec capability for fiber-in-the-loop applications

We present a micromechanical modulator for fiber-in-the-loop applications with projected optical bandwidths from 1.3 to 1.55 μm and data rates of several Mbits/sec. The device behaves as a damped oscillator. We have made a device with a ringing frequency of 1.1 MHz and a damping time constant of 1 μs. We indicate that with an appropriate linear filter the device could operate digitally with data rates of 1 Mbit/sec.