Integrated silicon carbide electro-optic modulator

Electro-optic modulator is used to encode electrical signals onto light. Here the authors demonstrate an electro-optic modulator, based on Silicon Carbide, which can be useful for quantum and optical communications. Owing to its attractive optical and electronic properties, silicon carbide is an emerging platform for integrated photonics. However an integral component of the platform is missing-an electro-optic modulator, a device which encodes electrical signals onto light. As a non-centrosymmetric crystal, silicon carbide exhibits the Pockels effect, yet a modulator has not been realized since the discovery of this effect more than three decades ago. Here we design, fabricate, and demonstrate a Pockels modulator in silicon carbide. Specifically, we realize a waveguide-integrated, small form-factor, gigahertz-bandwidth modulator that operates using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-level voltages on a thin film of silicon carbide on insulator. Our device is fabricated using a CMOS foundry compatible fabrication process and features no signal degradation, no presence of photorefractive effects, and stable operation at high optical intensities (913 kW/mm(2)), allowing for high optical signal-to-noise ratios for modern communications. Our work unites Pockels electro-optics with a CMOS foundry compatible platform in silicon carbide.

Automated summary

The authors demonstrate an electro-optic modulator based on Silicon Carbide, which shows promising potential for quantum and optical communications. The modulator is fabricated using a CMOS foundry compatible process, and features small form-factor, high bandwidth, and stable operation.