A graphene-based all-fiber electro-absorption modulator

An all-fiber structured electro-absorption (EA) modulator based on graphene is proposed. The graphene is directly attached to the core of the fiber to ensure the coupling efficiency. Mode analysis is used to reveal the light modulation mechanism under the anisotropic graphene modeling, which is merely conducted in previous studies. Compared with conventional semiconductor EA modulators, it exhibits an excellent performance with the advantages such as small footprint (50.2 mu m), small voltage swing (0.2 V), and broad operation bandwidth. In addition, the proposed modulator features simple structure, low optical propagation and coupling loss, and good integrated compatibility as the fiber modulator. All these edges prospect the great potentiality in future high-speed optic fiber communications, optical signal processing, and all-fiber systems.