| Popis: |
Modulators with high speed and low insertion loss are essential for much of classical and quantum photonic technology. The nonlinear optical electro-optic Kerr effect can produce silicon modulators that work at high speed and can even operate at cryogenic temperatures [1] . Until now, devices have focused on single-mode waveguides to yield modulators with CMOS-compatible modulation voltages [2] . We describe a new approach using wider multimode waveguides, with light propagating predominantly in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n structure and operating at wavelengths near 2.1-microns. By reducing free carrier overlap with the optical mode, (see Fig. 1 c ) and making use of the two-photon Kerr resonance in the mid-IR [3] , this structure can greatly reduce optical loss. However, this is at the cost of longer devices and higher operating voltages. Though the required voltage grows linearly with width, loss decreases exponentially [4] . |
