Graphene-based electro-optical modulator operating at telecommunication wavelength range

DOI: 10.5176/2301-3516_OPAP16.20

Authors: D. E. Aznakayeva, F. Rodriguez, O. Marshall and A. N. Grigorenko

Abstract:

We demonstrate a simple graphene-based telecommunication electro-optical modulator which guarantees extremely small modulation volume (<3), works at low gating voltages (~ -1V), has low power consumption (<1W) and shows modulation depth (~ 4{6e6090cdd558c53a8bc18225ef4499fead9160abd3419ad4f137e902b483c465}) using a single layer of graphene. We discuss various technological aspects necessary to achieve these parameters including the problems of graphene transfer and gating, the choice of the optimal parameters for the optical heterostructures and provide the results of electrical and optical characterization of the device. The novelty of our approach lies in a careful choice of a high quality graphene monolayer and implementation of a high-k-gate dielectric that give the possibility to apply small gate biases and obtain significant electro-optical modulation effect. Our device could find a wide range of applications in the telecommunication industry.

Keywords: graphene; electro-optical modulators; optical heterostructures; telecommunication industry