All-polymer modulator for high frequency low drive voltage applications

As EO phase modulators become more prevalent components in optical and RF applications, the demand increases for high bandwidth and low drive voltage modulators that can easily be integrated into developing photonic technologies. The proposed paper will discuss a device architecture for a phase modulator based on a recently developed organic EO material (OEOM), IKD-1-50 integrated into a PMMA polymer host, using a low-index, photo-curable resin as the cladding layers all on a Si platform. Designs for a TM waveguide and electrode configuration will be presented from theory and modeling, through fabrication to characterization. The EO material serving as the core of the waveguide is poled using a poling stage and monitoring apparatus with same electrodes designed for modulation. Poling procedures have been optimized for this material based on experimentation in simple slab-capacitor characterization devices, and produce in-device r33 values that are comparable with attenuated total internal reflection measurements. The challenges presented by the instability of OEOMs in common processing conditions have been addressed and a very simple fabrication process has been developed using standard photolithography and reactive ion etching to define an inverted ridge waveguide structure, pattern surrounding electrodes, and prepare usable end facets. Phase modulator characterization results for fabricated and poled devices have been quantified and will be presented. The simplicity of this device architecture on a Si handle allows for integration into various photonic applications.