All-optical modulation in a CMOS-compatible amorphous silicon-based device

S. Rao; C. D'Addio; F. G. Della Corte

doi:10.2971/jeos.2012.12023

Journal of the European Optical Society - Rapid publications, Vol 7 (2012)

All-optical modulation in a CMOS-compatible amorphous silicon-based device

S. Rao, C. D'Addio, F. G. Della Corte

Abstract

Active silicon photonic devices, which dynamically control the flow of light, have received significant attention for their use in on-chip optical networks. High-speed active silicon photonic modulators and switches rely on the plasma dispersion effect, where a change in carrier concentration causes a variation in the refractive index. The necessary electron and hole concentration change can be introduced either by optical pumping, or by direct electrical injection and depletion. We demonstrate a fast photoinduced absorption effect in low loss hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) waveguides deposited at a temperature as low as 190°C. Significant modulation (M% ~90%) occurs with a 1 mm-long device. We attribute the enhanced modulation to the significantly larger free-carrier absorption effect of a-Si:H. The complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible technology of a-Si:H could be considered as a promising candidate to enable an easy back-end integration with standard microelectronics processes.

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