Search
Menu
CASTECH INC - New Building the Bridge of Light

Miniaturized Modulator Increases Potential of Photonic Integrated Circuits

Facebook X LinkedIn Email
Photonic integrated circuits promise greater speed, bandwidth, and efficiency than traditional electrical circuits, but they’re not yet small enough to be used broadly in computing and other applications.

To achieve energy efficiency and operational speed within a smaller device, electrical engineers at the University of Rochester used a thin film of lithium niobate (LN) bonded on a silicon dioxide layer to create a miniaturized LN modulator. The engineers have created what they believe to be the smallest electro-optic modulator ever reported.

A schematic drawing shows an electro-optic modulator developed in the lab of Qiang Lin, professor of electrical and computer engineering. The smallest such component yet developed, it takes advantage of lithium niobate, a “workhorse” material used by researchers to create advanced photonics integrated circuits. Courtesy of University of Rochester/Michael Osadciwm.

A schematic drawing shows an electro-optic modulator developed in the lab of Qiang Lin, professor of electrical and computer engineering. The smallest such component yet developed, it takes advantage of lithium niobate, a 'workhorse' material used by researchers to create advanced photonic integrated circuits. Courtesy of University of Rochester/Michael Osadciwm.

Because of its outstanding electro-optic and nonlinear optic properties, lithium niobate has become a workhorse material system for photonics research and development, professor Qiang Lin said. “However, current LN photonic devices, made upon either [a] bulk crystal or thin-film platform, require large dimensions and are difficult to scale down in size, which limits the modulation efficiency, energy consumption, and the degree of circuit integration,” he said.

Meadowlark Optics - Building system MR 7/23

Lead author Mingxiao Li holds a small lithium niobate chip in an etching chamber. Courtesy of the laboratory of Qiang Lin/University of Rochester.
Lead author Mingxiao Li holds a small lithium niobate chip in an etching chamber. Courtesy of the laboratory of Qiang Lin/University of Rochester.

The LN electro-optic modulator demonstrated a tuning efficiency up to 1.98 GHz V−1; a broad modulation bandwidth of 17.5 GHz; and an electro-optic modal volume of only 0.58 μm3. The device demonstrated efficient electrical driving of high-Q cavity mode in both adiabatic and nonadiabatic regimes, and achieved high-speed electro-optic switching with low switching energy.

This energy-efficient, high-speed electro-optic modulator could be a step toward realizing device miniaturization and high-density photonic integration on the monolithic LN platform, which is expected to find broad applications in communication, computing, microwave signal processing, and quantum photonic information processing.

The Rochester team’s modulator project builds on the lab’s previous use of lithium niobate to create a photonic nanocavity. Along with the modulator, the nanocavity is a key component in photonic chips. At only about 1 μm in size, the team’s nanocavity can tune wavelengths using only two to three photons at room temperature. The modulator can be used in conjunction with a nanocavity to create a photonic chip at the nanoscale.

The research was published in Nature Communications (www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17950-7). 

Published: August 2020
Glossary
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The goal of integrated photonics is to miniaturize and consolidate optical elements in a manner similar to the integration of electronic components on a microchip in traditional integrated circuits. Key aspects of integrated photonics include: Miniaturization: Integrated photonics aims to reduce the...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is a combination of "optics" and "electronics," reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of this field. Optoelectronic devices convert electrical signals into optical signals or vice versa, making them crucial in various technologies. Some key components and applications of optoelectronics include: ...
photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic crystals are often engineered to have periodic variations in their refractive index, leading to bandgaps that prevent certain wavelengths of light from propagating through the material. These bandgaps are similar in principle to electronic bandgaps in semiconductors. Here are some key points about...
Research & TechnologyeducationAmericasUniversity of RochesterLight SourcesMaterialsphotonic integrated circuitsintegrated photonicsphotonic integrated chipsoptoelectronicsphotonic crystalsOpticsCommunicationsTech Pulse

We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our Privacy Policy. By using this website, you agree to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.