Nov 8 (Fri) @ 10:00am: "High-Speed Indium Phosphide Modulators for Micro-Transfer Print Integration on Silicon Photonics," Thomas Meissner, ECE PhD Defense

Location: Henley Hall (IEE), Room 1010
ECE Research Area: Electronics & Photonics
Research Keywords: High Speed, Optoelectronics, Silicon Photonics, Photonics

Abstract 

Indium Phosphide (InP)-based modulators offer performance advantages for high speed and high efficiency optical communication systems due to their superior electro-optic properties and the maturity of the InP platform. This dissertation presents the design, fabrication, and integration of high speed InP modulators for micro-transfer print (MTP) integration with low loss Silicon Nitride (SiN) photonics. The integration of InP with SiN via MTP provides the benefit of low loss passive components with high maturity while also utilizing the high efficiency of InP. A MTP compatible fabrication process was developed for traveling wave electro-absorption modulators (TWEAMs). Slow wave periodically loaded electrodes are utilized to improve impedance and electro-optic velocity matching. A model for traveling wave electro-optic response was developed and verified experimentally. Two generations of fabrication were performed, increasing the yield of transfer printing. To improve the high-frequency performance of the EAM on chip termination, resistors and capacitors were fabricated and calibrated to integrate with full TWEAMs. A deep etch using a ruthenium mask was developed to fabricate optical quality facets for the coupling of light between InP and SiN. Coupling losses of 6.5dB per facet were measured and a clear path to improvement is presented. High electro-optic bandwidths of up to 58GHz were measured on native InP modulators with DC extinction ratios of up to 5dB. Open eyes on MTP devices were measured at speeds up to 58Gbps confirming the device’s suitability for advanced communication applications. An optical viii modulation amplitude of 433μW and extinction ratio of 2.4dB was also measured at 58Gbps despite a 105nm delta between the photoluminescence peak of the epitaxy and the operating wavelength. This work highlights the potential of InP-on-Silicon photonic integration via MTP for next-generation high-speed data transmission systems, providing a pathway to scalable and efficient photonic circuits. 

Bio

Thomas Meissner received a dual B.S. in Physics and Optical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on integrating high speed indium phosphide modulators with silicon photonics.

Hosted By: ECE Professor Jonathan Klamkin

Submitted By: Thomas Meissner <thomas_meissner@ucsb.edu>