基于绝缘体上硅的一种改进的Mach-Zehnder声光调制器

传统的基于绝缘体上硅的Mach-Zehnder(MZ)声光调制器中,叉指换能器位于两臂的同一侧.为实现高的调制效率,声表面波的波峰和波谷分别调制MZ干涉仪的两臂,这要求控制MZ干涉仪两臂之间的距离为奇数倍声波半波长.但实际上由于传播过程中衬底材料的变化,声波波长会变大,这会导致两臂的间距难以准确设置.另一方面,声波在传播过程中经过MZ干涉仪的一臂后会发生衰减,降低了对另一臂的调制效果,影响了整体的调制效率.本文针对这些问题给出了一种解决方案,把叉指换能器放在MZ波导两臂之间,确保MZ干涉仪两臂到叉指电极中心距离相等.采用有限元法,首先对新提出的结构进行分析,然后通过声光互作用原理得到了材料的折射率变化;进而研究了波导类型、波导宽度、氧化锌厚度及叉指对数等因素对声光调制效率的影响,并对声光调制器的结构参数进行了优化以提高其性能.基于COMSOL Multiphysics的仿真结果表明,当条波导宽度为6μm,氧化锌只覆盖有叉指电极的部分且厚度为2.2μm,控制叉指电极数目为50对时,波导有效折射率变化在驱动电压为1 V时可以达到4.08×10~(-4),比传统结构提高了12%.

An improved Mach-Zehnder acousto-optic mo dulator on a silicon-on-insulator platform

The interdigital transducer (IDT) of the traditional Mach-Zehnder (MZ) acousto-optic modulator on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform is located outside its two arms. The crest and trough of the surface acoustic wave (SAW) are used to modulate the two arms of the MZ interferometer so as to achieve a high modulation efficiency. Therefore, the distance between the two arms must be odd multiples of half acoustic wavelength. However, since the substrate is usually not uniform, the wavelength of the SAW changes as it transmits through the surface of the device. As a result, the exact distance between the two arms is difficult to choose. On the other hand, the SAW losses a portion of energy after passing through the first arm of the MZ interferometer, so the modulation of the second arm becomes much weaker. To solve these problems, we propose a new structure where its IDT is situated in the middle of the two arms of the MZ interferometer. With this scheme, the two arms of the MZ interferometer are located exactly at the crest and the trough of the SAW, while they are modulated with equal strength. In this paper, we first use the finite element method to simulate the acoustic frequency and the surface displacement of the excited SAW. Then we deduce the refractive index variations of all layers according to their acousto-optic effects. After that, we analyze the influences of different factors on the acousto-optic modulation efficiency, including the type and size of waveguide, the thickness of zinc oxide (ZnO) layer, and the area it covers, the number of electrodes, etc. These parameters are accordingly optimized to enhance the modulation efficiency. Modeling result based on COMSOL Multiphysics indicates that when the width of the strip waveguide is 6 μm, the ZnO layer covers only the area under the IDT and has a thickness of 2.2 μm, and the number of the electrodes is 50, the effective refractive index variation of the waveguide reaches 4.08×10^-4 provided that the amplitude of the driving voltage is 1 V. This value is 12% higher than that of the traditional structure.