Waveguide Engineering of Graphene Optoelectronics—Modulators and Polarizers

Abstract

The concept of incorporating graphene into nanophotonic waveguides has pullulated into massive broadband optoelectronic applications with compact footprint. We theoretically demonstrate that by solely altering the dimension design of graphene-laminated silicon waveguides, the phase, amplitude, and polarization of the fundamental propagating modes can all be effectively tailored under different bias voltages. Different device functionalities, including optical amplitude/phase modulators and polarizers, are ascribed into the devising of the effective mode index. A comprehensive analysis and unified design scenarios upon waveguide geometries are summarized, with fabrication robustness and moderate process complexity. Moreover, design examples are manifested. We report a TM-mode-based phase modulator, achieving a π phase shift within an active length of 49.2 μm with dual graphene layers. A feasible polarization-independent amplitude modulator is also demonstrated, where the discrepancy of the imaginary parts of the effective mode index between the two fundamental modes is kept at an order of 10⁻⁵ over a broad wavelength range from 1.35 to 1.65 μm.