80-micron interaction length silicon photonic crystal waveguide modulator

An ultracompact silicon electro-optic modulator was experimentally demonstrated based on silicon photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides for the first time to our knowledge. Modulation operation was demonstrated by carrier injection into an 80 mu m-long silicon PhC waveguide of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) structure. The pi phase shift driving current, I-pi, across the active region is as low as 0.15 mA, which is equivalent to a V-pi of 7.5 mV when a 50 Omega impedance-matched structure is applied. The modulation depth is 92% operating at 1567 nm. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.