10 Gb/s broadband silicon electro-optic absorption modulator

Here we propose a design for a novel broadband silicon electro-optic absorption modulator. The device is simply a 100 µm long silicon waveguide with a Schottky diode integrated in it. Modulation is achieved through free-carrier absorption, not interference effects, enabling operation over the entire bandwidth of the waveguide. The high overlap between the modulated carrier density and the optical mode enables high speed (> 10 Gb/s), small footprint and modulation depths of ∼ 4.6 dB.