title: Ultra-low-power carrier-depletion Mach-Zehnder silicon optical modulator.
abstract: We demonstrate a 26 Gbit/s Mach-Zehnder silicon optical modulator. The doping concentration and profile are optimized, and a modulation efficiency with the figure of merit (VπL) of 1.28 V·cm is achieved. We design an 80-nm-wide intrinsic silicon gap between the p-type and n-type doped regions to reduce the capacitance of the diode and prevent the diode from working in a slow diffusion mode. Therefore, the modulator can be driven with a small differential voltage of 0.5 V with no bias. Without the elimination of the dissipated power of the series resistors and the reflected power of the electrical signal, the maximum power consumption is 3.8 mW.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics & Optoelectronic System Laboratory, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ruiqiang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Yonghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yangyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Mingbin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007834:Lasers; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013685:Telecommunications / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon