Thermo-optical modulator based on graphene microring structure and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a thermo-optical modulator based on a graphene microring structure. The thermo-optical modulator comprises insulated silicon-on-substrate as a substrate. A straight waveguide and an annular resonant chamber are adjacently arranged on the insulated silicon-on-substrate. A square graphene conducting layer is arranged above the straight waveguide and the annular resonant chamber. A first electrode layer and a second electrode layer without overlapping are arranged above the other end of the graphene conducting layer. According to the thermo-optical modulator, the graphene directly contacts with a silicon microring waveguide. Heat which is generated by the graphene is changed through controlling the voltage which is applied on the graphene, and finally light modulation in the silicon microring is realized. The thermo-optical modulator can be prepared in a relatively easy manner. Furthermore a microring resonant cavity is very sensitive. Furthermore because of a relatively large thermo-optic coefficient of the silicon, strong optical modulation can be realized. Furthermore because of an ultrahigh thermal conductivity of the graphene, dynamic response of the device is improved to a relatively large extent.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of light modulators, in particular to a thermo-optic modulator based on a graphene microring structure and a manufacturing method thereof. Background technique [0002] For an optical modulator, the modulation depth, spectral range and response speed of the optical modulator are important parameters to measure its performance. The spectral range and modulation rate of conventional optical modulators based on group IV and III-V semiconductors (such as silicon and gallium arsenide) are limited by their energy bands and carrier transit times, making it difficult to achieve ultrafast broadband optical The modulator is not suitable for some applications that have stricter requirements on device performance, such as the field of ultra-fast broadband data transmission. On the other hand, with the improvement of device integration requirements, the device size needs to be continuously reduced, and the traditional device size...

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Problems solved by technology

However, most of the structures of such devices are capacitive structures, which have a relatively complicated process and low yield

This defect limits their application in large-scale photonic integrated circuits

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