Abstract
The influence of BaTiO3 ferroelectric domain orientations for
high efficiency electro-optic modulation has been thoroughly analyzed. The
Mach-Zehnder modulator structure is based on a CMOS compatible
silicon/BaTiO3/silicon slot waveguide that supports both TE and TM
polarizations whereas the Pockels effect is exploited by the application of a
horizontal electric field with lateral electrodes placed on top of the BaTiO3
layer. The influence of the waveguide parameters has been optimized for
each configuration and the lowest Vπ voltage combined with low losses has
been determined. A VπL as low as 0.27 V·cm has been obtained for a-axis
oriented BaTiO3 and TE polarization by rotating the waveguide structure to
an optimum angle.
