Wavelength-tunable silicon microring modulator

We present a wavelength-tunable, compact, high speed and low power silicon microring modulator. With a ring radius of 5 mu m, we demonstrate a modulator with a high speed of 12.5 Gbps and a driving voltage of 3 V to achieve similar to 6 dB extinction ratio in high speed measurement. More importantly, tunability of the resonant wavelength is accomplished by means of a microheater on top of the ring, with an efficiency of 2.4 mW/nm (2.4 mW is needed to tune the resonant wavelength by 1 nm). This device aims to solve the narrow bandwidth problem of silicon microcavity modulators and increase the data bandwidth in optical interconnect systems. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America