Strain-induced electro-optical effect in silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators

Christian Lafforgue (1) , Mathias Berciano (2) , Lucas Deniel (3) , Guillaume Marcaud (2) , Xavier Le Roux (4) , Carlos Alonso-Ramos (2) , Daniel Benedikovic (2) , Alicia Ruiz-Caridad (1) , Paul Crozat (2) , Delphine Marris-Morini (2) , Eric Cassan (4) , Laurent Vivien (2)

1 C2N (UMR_9001) - Centre de Nanosciences et Nanotechnologies
2 C2N - Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies [Orsay]
3 C2N - Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies
4 IEF - Institut d'électronique fondamentale

Due to the strong evolution of data transmission worldwide, silicon photonics needs to provide low power consuming and ultra-fast modulators. Pockels effect is known to answer both these demands. However, silicon is a centrosymmetric crystal, which makes it inadequate to use Pockels effect. Nonetheless, by straining a silicon waveguide, it is possible to unlock second order nonlinear optics effects, enabling electro-optic modulation through Pockels effect. In our work, we experimentally demonstrated a high-speed strain-induced Pockels effect based electro-optic modulation in a Mach-Zehnder silicon modulator. We also present a complete analysis of Pockels, Kerr, and free carriers effects.

Mots clés: Silicon photonics; Pockels effect; nonlinear optics; modulation

Domaines: Optique / photonique

Christian Lafforgue, Mathias Berciano, Lucas Deniel, Guillaume Marcaud, Xavier Le Roux, et al.. Strain-induced electro-optical effect in silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators. ECIO, Jun 2020, Palaiseau, France. ⟨hal-02933286⟩