Silicon ring resonator electro-optical modulator utilizing epsilon-near-zero characteristics of indium tin oxide

One crucial component in optical communication systems is the optical modulator. It links between the electric and optical domains as it transforms the electric signal into an optical stream. Electro-optical modulation is a very popular scheme. Recently, indium tin oxide (ITO) has been intensively used in optical modulators due to its epsilon-near-zero characteristics. A silicon electro-optic ring resonator modulator is proposed in terms of the outspread application of ITO. An extinction ratio of about 14 dB as well as an insertion loss of 0.075 dB are achieved at a standard telecommunication wavelength of 1.55 microns. The design has low losses, high efficiency, and compact size.