Electro-optic polymer infiltrated silicon photonic crystal slot waveguide modulator with 23 dB slow light enhancement

A silicon/organic hybrid modulator integrating photonic crystal (PC) waveguide, 75 nm slot, and electro-optic (EO) polymer is experimentally demonstrated. Slow light in PC waveguide and strong field confinement in slot waveguide enable ultraefficient EO modulation with a record-low V(pi) XL of 0.56 V mm and an in-device effective r(33) of 132 pm/V. This result makes it the most efficient EO polymer modulator demonstrated to date. The modulated signal shows strong wavelength dependence and peak enhancement of 23 dB near the band edge of defect mode, which confirms the signature of the slow light effect. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3486225]