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Electrically driven acousto-optics and broadband non-reciprocity in silicon photonics

Nature Photonics volume 15, pages 43–52 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Emerging technologies based on tailorable photon–phonon interactions promise new capabilities ranging from high-fidelity information processing to non-reciprocal optics and quantum state control. However, many existing realizations of such light–sound couplings involve unconventional materials and fabrication schemes challenging to co-implement with scalable integrated photonic circuitry. Here, we demonstrate direct acousto-optic modulation within silicon waveguides using electrically driven surface acoustic waves (SAWs). By co-integrating electromechanical SAW transducers with a standard silicon-on-insulator photonic platform, we harness silicon’s strong elasto-optic effect to create travelling-wave phase and single-sideband amplitude modulators from 1 to 5 GHz, with index modulation strengths comparable to electro-optic technologies. Extending this non-local interaction to centimetre scales, we demonstrate non-reciprocal modulation with operation bandwidths of >100 GHz and insertion losses of <0.6 dB. This acousto-optic platform is compatible with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor fabrication processes and existing silicon photonic device architectures, opening the door to flexible, low-loss modulators and non-magnetic optical isolators and circulators in integrated photonic circuits.

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Fig. 1: Integrated acousto-optic platform in silicon photonics.
Fig. 2: Experimental observation of acousto-optic modulation in silicon.
Fig. 3: Dynamics of a representative acousto-optic phase modulator.
Fig. 4: Dynamics of an acousto-optic single-sideband modulator.
Fig. 5: Enhanced efficiency and non-reciprocal modulation in a serpentine device.

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Data availability

The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We acknowledge helpful discussions with S. Gertler, P. O. Weigel, M. S. Mohamed, S. Forouhar, L. Sterczewski, A. Qamar, C. Frez and D. Wilson. N.T.O. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under grant no. DGE1122492.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Eric A. Kittlaus, William M. Jones, Richard E. Muller & Mina Rais-Zadeh

  2. Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Peter T. Rakich & Nils T. Otterstrom

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  1. Eric A. Kittlaus
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Contributions

E.A.K. and P.T.R. conceived the project and developed numerical and analytical models of the device physics. E.A.K. designed the devices with the assistance of P.T.R., N.T.O., R.E.M. and M.R.-Z. E.A.K., W.M.J. and R.E.M. fabricated the devices. E.A.K. conducted the experiments with the assistance of W.M.J., N.T.O. and M.R.-Z. All authors contributed to the writing of this paper.

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Correspondence to Eric A. Kittlaus.

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Supplementary Information; Supplementary notes I–VII and Figs. 1–10.

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Kittlaus, E.A., Jones, W.M., Rakich, P.T. et al. Electrically driven acousto-optics and broadband non-reciprocity in silicon photonics. Nat. Photonics 15, 43–52 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00711-9

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