title: High-speed electro-optic modulator integrated with graphene-boron nitride heterostructure and photonic crystal nanocavity.
abstract: 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.1-4 Silicon-based EO modulators show sufficient figures of merits regarding device footprint, speed, power consumption, and modulation depth.5-11 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.12-14 Here, 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University , New York, New York 10027, United States.
authors.forename: Yuanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Ren-Jye
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shiue
authors.forename: Xuetao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.forename: Luozhou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Inanc
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meric
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szep
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hone
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Englund
keywords: Optoelectronics; boron nitride; electro-optic modulator; graphene; photonic crystal