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Tunable Interferometers Driven by Coherent Surface Acoustic Phonons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2016

Antonio Crespo-Poveda ,
Alberto Hernández-Mínguez ,
Klaus Biermann ,
Abbes Tahraoui ,
Bernardo Gargallo ,
Pascual Muñoz ,
Paulo V. Santos ,
Andrés Cantarero  and
Maurício M. de Lima Jr.
Antonio Crespo-Poveda*
Affiliation:
Materials Science Institute, University of Valencia, P.O. Box 2208, ES46071 Valencia, Spain
Alberto Hernández-Mínguez
Affiliation:
Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, DE10117 Berlin, Germany
Klaus Biermann
Affiliation:
Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, DE10117 Berlin, Germany
Abbes Tahraoui
Affiliation:
Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, DE10117 Berlin, Germany
Bernardo Gargallo
Affiliation:
iTEAM Research Institute, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, ES46022 Valencia, Spain
Pascual Muñoz
Affiliation:
iTEAM Research Institute, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, ES46022 Valencia, Spain
Paulo V. Santos
Affiliation:
Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, DE10117 Berlin, Germany
Andrés Cantarero
Affiliation:
Materials Science Institute, University of Valencia, P.O. Box 2208, ES46071 Valencia, Spain
Maurício M. de Lima Jr.
Affiliation:
Materials Science Institute, University of Valencia, P.O. Box 2208, ES46071 Valencia, Spain
*
*(Email: Antonio.Crespo-Poveda@uv.es)
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Abstract

We demonstrate a compact tunable photonic modulator driven by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in the low GHz frequency range. The device follows a well-known Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) structure with three output channels, built upon multi-mode interference (MMI) couplers. The light continuously switches paths between the central and the side channels, avoiding losses and granting a 180◦-dephasing synchronization between them. The modulator was monolithically fabricated on (Al,Ga)As, and can be used as a building block for more complex photonic functionalities. It can also be implemented in other material platforms such as Silicon or (In,Ga)P. Light modulated at multiples of the fundamental acoustic frequency can be accomplished by adjusting the applied acoustic power. An excellent agreement between theory and experiment is achieved.

Keywords

devicesoptoelectronicacoustic
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 1 , Issue 22: Electronics and Photonics , 2016 , pp. 1651 - 1656
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

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References

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