Cryogenic operation of silicon photonic modulators based on the DC Kerr effect

• DOI: 10.1364/optica.403178
• Publication Date: 2020-09-15T01:00:08Z
• Authors: Uttara Chakraborty; Jacques Carolan; Genevieve Clark; Darius Bunandar; Gerald Gilbert; Jelena Notaros; Michael R. Watts; Dirk R. Englund
• Keywords: Modulation (music)

Reliable operation of photonic integrated circuits at cryogenic temperatures would enable new capabilities for emerging computing platforms, such as quantum technologies and low-power computing. The silicon-on-insulator platform is a highly promising approach to developing large-scale due its exceptional manufacturability, CMOS compatibility, high component density. Fast, efficient, low-loss modulation in silicon, however, remains an outstanding challenge, particularly without the addition exotic nonlinear optical materials. In this paper, we demonstrate DC-Kerr-effect-based temperature 5 K GHz speeds, silicon device fabricated exclusively within CMOS-compatible process. This work opens up path integration DC Kerr modulators classical applications.