Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5404043 | Journal of Luminescence | 2006 | 4 Pages |
Abstract
Electrorefractive effect is experimentally demonstrated in an all-silicon optical structure. A highly doped Si P+ layer is embedded in the intrinsic region of a PIN diode integrated in a SOI waveguide. Holes are confined at equilibrium around the P+ layer. By applying a reverse bias to the diode, electrical field sweeps the carriers out of the active region. Free carrier concentration variations are responsible for local refractive index variations leading to an effective index variation of the waveguide optical mode and to an optical absorption variation. As a figure of merit, the product VÏLÏ, determined from the measured effective index variation, is equal to 3.1Â VÂ cm. Furthermore, the device performances have theoretically been investigated. Estimations show that VÏLÏ as small as 1Â VÂ cm are feasible using optimized structures. Response times lower than 2Â ps are predicted, which gives the possibility to achieve very high-speed modulation. Furthermore, a temperature increases from 300 to 400Â K does not change the index variation amplitude, and despite the carrier mobility reduction, response times are still lower than 2Â ps.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Authors
Delphine Marris-Morini, Xavier Le Roux, Daniel Pascal, Laurent Vivien, Eric Cassan, Jean Marc Fédéli, Jean François Damlencourt, David Bouville, José Palomo, Suzanne Laval,