Electrooptical high-index contrast waveguide component

Abstract

A high-index contrast waveguide component is presented, which is based on the fast changing of the transmission properties of an optical waveguide by applying electric voltages, or by embossing electric currents. The waveguide consists of a high-refractive waveguide core surrounded by a low-refractive surrounding material, which at least area by area has electro-optical properties. By applying a voltage to completely or partially optically transparent electrodes, an electric field is generated having a strong overlap with the optical mode, being in interaction with it, and therefore changing the transmission properties of the waveguide. The transparent electrodes or supply line areas are laminar, connected at low resistance with conductor paths of high conductivity by means of structures continually repeated along the propagation direction. Thus, it is possible for example to very fast load the capacity being effective between the electrodes, and to thus achieve a high electric band width. In certain embodiments, the waveguide core itself consists of one or more electrically conductive stripes being used as electrodes at the same time. These embodiments make especially small switching voltages possible. For example, the presented component makes fast electro-optical modulators with small switching voltages possible, which modulators may be integrated together with electronic components on a common semiconductor substrate (e.g. silicon).