Efficient and wideband acousto-optic modulation on thin-film lithium niobate for microwave-to-photonic conversion

Ahmed E. Hassanien; Steffen Link; Yansong Yang; Edmond Chow; Lynford L. Goddard; Songbin Gong

doi:10.1364/PRJ.421612

Photonics Research, Volume. 9, Issue 7, 1182(2021)

Efficient and wideband acousto-optic modulation on thin-film lithium niobate for microwave-to-photonic conversion Editors' Pick

Ahmed E. Hassanien^*, Steffen Link, Yansong Yang, Edmond Chow, Lynford L. Goddard, and Songbin Gong

Author Affiliations

Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

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Figures & Tables(7)

$(a) Mock-up of the proposed AO modulator concept; (b) simulated average strain on 1 μm wide 560 nm thick optical WG; (c) total refractive index variation, in principal directions, due to simulated strain in (b).$

Fig. 1. (a) Mock-up of the proposed AO modulator concept; (b) simulated average strain on 1 μm wide 560 nm thick optical WG; (c) total refractive index variation, in principal directions, due to simulated strain in (b).

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Fig. 2. (a) Microscope image of the fabricated MZI; (b) measurement setup for the optical response of the MZI device. EDFA, erbium-doped fiber amplifier; FPC, fiber polarization controller; DUT, device under test; DAQ, data acquisition card. (c) Measured optical response of the MZI; (d) cross-sectional SEM image of the optical WG (left) and simulated TM mode shape, including WG sidewalls (right).

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Fig. 3. (a) Fabrication process. BOX, buried oxide; PR, photoresist. SEM images of (b) IDTs and modulated MZI arm; (c) PhC WG; (d) etched region used to protect the unmodulated MZI arm from the acoustic waves; (e) zoomed-in IDTs; (f) zoomed-in IDTs and PhC WG; and (g) WGC used for mechanical tethering.

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Fig. 4. (a) Measurement setup; (b) measured optical powers versus wavelength for device A; (c) measured S-parameters of device A at optical wavelength of 1561 nm.

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Fig. 5. (a) Measured S-parameters of device B at optical wavelength of 1560.6 nm; (b) measured S-parameters of device C at optical wavelength of 1558.5 nm; (c) SEM image of device C.

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Table 1. Fabricated Devices’ Dimensions
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Table 1. Fabricated Devices’ Dimensions
Device $N_{IDT}$ $Λ$ (μm) $L_{\mod}$ (μm) $a$ (μm) $W_{w g}$ (μm) $r$ ( $\times a$ ) $T_{LN}$ (μm) $T_{Au}$ (nm)
A 25 2.9 45 0.7 1 0.35 0.56 50
B 49 2.9 45 0.7 1 0.35 0.56 50
C 7 2.8 45 0.7 1 0.35 0.56 50

Table 2. Performance Summary and Comparison to SoA

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Table 2. Performance Summary and Comparison to SoA

Ref./Device	Acoustic Cavity	Frequency (GHz)	BW (MHz)	Q	$a_{p}$ ( $rad / \sqrt mW$ )	$L_{\mod}$ (μm)	$a_{p} / L_{\mod}$ [ $rad / (\sqrt mW \cdot mm)$ ]	$V_{π} L$ ( $V \cdot cm$ )	$P_{π} L$ ( $mW \cdot cm$ )	Mismatch Efficiency^a (%)
[20]	✓	0.11	0.062	1800	0.073	1200	0.061	2.5^b	222	42
[18]	✓	3.27	0.9	3600	0.27	100	2.7	0.046	1.35	64
[37]	✓	0.11	0.09	1200	0.26	2400	0.11	0.94	35	95
[24]	^c	0.52			0.073	15	4.8		2.77
[25]	^c	0.52			0.13	120	1.08		7
C	✓	1.16	0.48	2400	0.54	45	12	0.019	0.15	19.3
A	×	1.90	140	14	0.0166	45	0.37	0.38	161	50
B	×	1.90	70	27	0.0175	45	0.39	0.27	145.3	90

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Ahmed E. Hassanien, Steffen Link, Yansong Yang, Edmond Chow, Lynford L. Goddard, Songbin Gong, "Efficient and wideband acousto-optic modulation on thin-film lithium niobate for microwave-to-photonic conversion," Photonics Res. 9, 1182 (2021)

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