Electrically controlled modulation in a photonic crystal nanocavity

TL;DR

This paper presents a compact, electrically controlled photonic crystal nanocavity modulator capable of high-speed optical modulation with low power consumption, suitable for integrated optical communication systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel electrically tunable nanocavity modulator leveraging a p-i-n diode for resonance control, enabling efficient on-chip optical modulation.

Findings

High bandwidth potential due to low capacitance

Compact size suitable for integration

Effective resonance shifting with applied bias

Abstract

We describe a compact modulator based on a planar photonic crystal nanocavity whose resonance is electrically controlled. A forward bias applied across a p-i-n diode shifts the cavity into and out of resonance with a continuous-wave laser field in a waveguide. The sub-micron size of the nanocavity promises extremely low capacitance, high bandwidth, and efficient on-chip integration in optical interconnects.