arXiv · 1907.11131
A Lateral MOS-Capacitor Enabled ITO Mach-Zehnder Modulator for Beam Steering
Abstract
Here, we experimentally demonstrate an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) Mach-Zehnder interferometer heterogeneously integrated in silicon photonics. The phase shifter section is realized in a novel lateral MOS configuration, which, due to favorable electrostatic overlap, leads to efficient modulation (V{\pi}L = 63 Vum). This is achieved by (i) selecting a strong index changing material (ITO) and (ii) improving the field overlap as verified by the electrostatic field lines. Furthermore, we show that this platform serves as a building block in an endfire silicon photonics optical phased array (OPA) with a half-wavelength pitch within the waveguides with anticipated performance, including narrow main beam lobe (<3{\deg}) and >10 dB suppression of the side lobes, while electrostatically steering the emission profile up to plus/minus 80{\deg}, and if further engineered, can lead not only towards nanosecond-fast beam steering capabilities in LiDAR systems but also in holographic display, free-space optical communications, and optical switches.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Rubab Amin, Rishi Maiti, Jonathan K. George, Xiaoxuan Ma, Zhizhen Ma, Hamed Dalir, Mario Miscuglio, Volker J. Sorger. 2019-06-02. A Lateral MOS-Capacitor Enabled ITO Mach-Zehnder Modulator for Beam Steering. https://doi.org/10.1109/jlt.2019.2956719
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.