A Novel Broadband Electro-Absorption Modulator Based on Bandfilling in n-InGaAs: Design and Simulations

Abstract

We propose and evaluate by simulation a novel membrane electro-absorption modulator heterogeneously integrated on silicon. The device is based on the electron-concentration-dependent absorption of highly doped n-InGaAs. It is predicted that the modulator can be operated over a wavelength range of more than 100 nm and provides a static extinction ratio of 7.2 dB, an insertion loss of 4.4 dB, a modulation speed above 50 Gb/s, and a power consumption of 53 fJ/b. The modulator has a small footprint of 0.4 × 80 um <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> (excluding contact pads) and operates on a CMOS compatible 1.5 V voltage swing.