High speed modulation based on a compact silicon ring resonator operating in depletion mode is demonstrated. The device exhibits an electrical small signal bandwidth of 19 GHz. The device is therefore a candidate for highly compact, wide bandwidth modulators for a variety of applications.

40 Gbit/s low-loss silicon optical modulators are demonstrated. The devices are based on the carrier depletion effect in a pipin diode to generate a good compromise between high efficiency, speed and low optical loss. The diode is embedded in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and a self-aligned fabrication process was used to obtain precise localization of the active p-doped region in the middle of the waveguide. Using a 4.7 mm (resp. 0.95 mm) long phase shifter, the modulator exhibits an extinction ratio of 6.6 dB (resp. 3.2 dB), simultaneously with an optical loss of 6 dB (resp. 4.5 dB) at the same operating point.

The use of optics in microelectronic circuits to overcome the limitation of metallic interconnects is more and more considered as a viable solution. Among future silicon compatible materials, carbon nanotubes are promising candidates thanks to their ability to emit, modulate and detect light in the wavelength range of silicon transparency. We report the first integration of carbon nanotubes with silicon waveguides, successfully coupling their emission and absorption properties. A complete study of this coupling between carbon nanotubes and silicon waveguides was carried out, which led to the demonstration of the temperature-independent emission from carbon nanotubes in silicon at a wavelength of 1.3 µm. This represents the first milestone in the development of photonics based on carbon nanotubes on silicon.

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10 Gbit/s silicon modulator based on carrier depletion in interdigitated PN junctions is experimentally demonstrated. The phase-shifter is integrated in a ring resonator, and high extinction ratio larger than 10 dB is obtained in both TE and TM polarizations. VπLπ of about 2.5 V × cm and optical loss lower than 1 dB are estimated. 10 Gbit/s data transmission is demonstrated with an extinction ratio of 4 dB.

We demonstrate high-speed silicon modulators based on carrier depletion in interleaved pn junctions fabricated on 300 mm-SOI wafers using CMOS foundry facilities. 950 µm-long Mach Zehnder (MZ) and ring resonator (RR) modulator with a 100 µm radius, were designed, fabricated and characterized. 40 Gbit/s data transmission has been demonstrated for both devices. The MZ modulator exhibited a high extinction ratio of 7.9 dB with only 4 dB on-chip losses at the operating point.

We describe the design, fabrication, and characterization of a narrow band tunable guided mode resonance (GMR) reflectance filter that is actuated by optically induced trans-cis isomerization of an azobenzene liquid crystal. Constructing a plastic replica-molded containment cell with a rubbed polyimide film to initially direct the liquid crystal molecular orientation parallel to the grating lines of the GMR filter, isomerization caused by exposure to a λ=532nm laser results in a −25nm shift of the resonant reflected wavelength.