Efficient modulation of 1.55 μm radiation with gated graphene on a silicon microring resonator.
The gate-controllability of the Fermi-edge onset of interband absorption in graphene can be utilized to modulate near-infrared radiation in the telecommunication band. However, a high modulation efficiency has not been demonstrated to date, because of the small amount of light absorption in graphene. Here, we demonstrate a ∼ 40% amplitude modulation of 1.55 μm radiation with gated single-layer graphene that is coupled with a silicon microring resonator. Both the quality factor and resonance wavelength of the silicon microring resonator were strongly modulated through gate tuning of the Fermi level in graphene. These results promise an efficient electro-optic modulator, ideal for applications in large-scale on-chip optical interconnects that are compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ‡Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, and §Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
Ciyuan
C
Qiu
Weilu
W
Gao
Robert
R
Vajtai
Pulickel M
PM
Ajayan
Junichiro
J
Kono
Qianfan
Q
Xu
Graphene photonics; NIR modulator; high on/off ratio; silicon microring resonator