Silicon photonic modulators are a key component for electro-optic transmitter within data centers. Electro-refractive modulators relying on free carrier plasma dispersion in Mach-Zehnder interferometer have become the most popular solution. Accumulation–based capacitive modulators are an efficient approach, which can reduce the modulation power consumption. In this work we study the behavior of capacitive modulators with polycrystalline silicon to form the capacitance. The modulators are made within the standard fabrication flow with only few add-ons. In this work we show that furnace annealing conditions and excimer laser annealing conditions during the polycrystalline silicon formation enhance the modulator bandwidths.
Silicon photonic modulators are a key component for electro-optic transmitters within data centers. Electro-refractive modulators relying on free carrier plasma dispersion in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) have become the most popular solution. Among the different electrical configurations, PN silicon modulators show a high bandwidth but at the price of a low efficiency. Accumulation–based capacitive modulators are an alternative, allowing to reduce the modulator power consumption. Additionally, strained SiGe exhibits a stronger plasma dispersion effect than silicon for holes. In this work we study the behavior of capacitive modulators with a thin layer of strained SiGe. The modulator fabrication process is based on the standard process flow with only few add-ons. In the first demonstration we show that the thin SiGe layer improved the modulator efficiency by 25%. In addition, further improvement is possible by optimization of the SiGe deposition condition to maximize the SiGe layer stress.
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