Integrated visible-light liquid-crystal-based phase modulators

Abstract

In this work, an integrated liquid-crystal-based phase modulator operating at visible wavelengths was developed and experimentally demonstrated. A visible-light silicon-nitride-based 300-mm-wafer foundry platform and a liquid-crystal integration process were developed to leverage the birefringence of liquid crystal to actively tune the effective index of a section of silicon-nitride waveguide and induce a phase shift over its length. The device was experimentally shown to achieve a 41π phase shift within 4.8 Vpp for a 500-µm-long modulator, which means that a 2π phase shifter would need to be only 24.4 µm long. This device is a compact and low-power solution to the challenge of integrated phase modulation in silicon nitride and paves the way for future low-power small-form-factor integrated systems at visible wavelengths.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 08, 2022
Source ID
10.1364/oe.454494

Entities

People

  • Christopher Baiocco
  • Jelena Notaroš
  • Manan Raval
  • Michael. R. Watts
  • Milica Notaros
  • Thomas Dyer

Organizations

  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • National Science Foundation
  • State University of New York

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.