A Resonator-based Silicon Electro-optic Modulator with Ultra-low Power Consumption and Optimized Modulation Performance

This paper demonstrates, via simulation, an electro-optic modulator based on a subwavelength Fabry-Perot resonator cavity with ultra-low power consumption. The device is modulated at a doped p-i-n junction overlapping the cavity in a silicon waveguide perforated with etched holes, with the doping area optimized for minimum power consumption. The surface area of the entire device is only 2.1 mum
²
. Our optical and electrical simulations demonstrate a resonance peak shift of 12 nm with 0.5 mW power consumption. Transient results indicate that the modulation depth exceeds 10 dB at a modulation speed of 100 MHz with the power consumption comparing favorably to a previous report [1]. This speed can be further improved to 250 MHz by using an optimized driving signal [2]. Finally, the etched holes forming the cavity have been tapered [3], [4] to maximize insertion, and the etching depth of those holes is tuned to reduce fabrication complexity. The device does not rely on ultra-high Q, and the huge peak shift detected could be applied to a sensor [5]-[7], modulator, or passive filter with built-in calibration.