High-Speed Electro-Optic Modulator Integrated with Graphene-Boron Nitride Heterostructure and Photonic Crystal Nanocavity
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering
- Air Force Research Lab. (AFRL), Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States). Sensors Directorate
Nanoscale and power-efficient electro-optic (EO) modulators are essential components for optical interconnects that are beginning to replace electrical wiring for intra- and interchip communications. Silicon-based EO modulators show sufficient figures of merits regarding device footprint, speed, power consumption, and modulation depth. However, the weak electro-optic effect of silicon still sets a technical bottleneck for these devices, motivating the development of modulators based on new materials. Graphene, a two-dimensional carbon allotrope, has emerged as an alternative active material for optoelectronic applications owing to its exceptional optical and electronic properties. We demonstrate a high-speed graphene electro-optic modulator based on a graphene-boron nitride (BN) heterostructure integrated with a silicon photonic crystal nanocavity. Strongly enhanced light-matter interaction of graphene in a submicron cavity enables efficient electrical tuning of the cavity reflection. We observe a modulation depth of 3.2 dB and a cutoff frequency of 1.2 GHz.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Excitonics (CE)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0001088
- OSTI ID:
- 1370895
- Journal Information:
- Nano Letters, Vol. 15, Issue 3; ISSN 1530-6984
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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