An optical phase shifter may include a waveguide core that has a top surface, and a semiconductor contact that is laterally displaced relative to the waveguide core and is electrically connected to the waveguide core. A top surface of the semiconductor contact is above the top surface of the waveguide core. The waveguide core may include a p-type core region and an n-type core region. A p-type semiconductor region may be in physical contact with the n-type core region of the waveguide core, and an n-type semiconductor region may be in physical contact with the p-type core region of the waveguide core. A phase shifter region and a light-emitting region may be disposed at different depth levels, and the light-emitting region may emit light from a phase shifter region that is in a position adjacent to the light-emitting region.

An apparatus includes a lithium niobate (LN) layer, and a planar electro-optical modulator having at least one hybrid optical core segment formed of a portion of the LN layer and an optical guiding rib. The optical guiding rib may be located in a top silicon layer of a silicon photonics (SiP) chip, to which a thin-film LN chip is flip-chip mounted, and may be coupled to optical waveguide cores in a first silicon core layer of the SiP chip. One or more drive electrodes are disposed between a substrate of the SiP chip and the LN layer. In some embodiments hybrid optical core segments may include silicon nitride core segments and may form an MZM configured to be differentially or dual-differentially driven.

A high speed spatial light modulators are described. In one non-limiting example, an optical phased array structure comprises a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that provides a light beam and a phase delay unit that includes a bi-layer photonic crystal slab. The bi-layer photonic crystal slab (PCS) is attached to the VCSEL and comprises two silicon PCS layers separated by a dielectric layer. The optical phased array structure is configured to control a direction of the light beam by a voltage applied to the phase delay unit. By incorporating a dispersive layer (e.g. graphene), the absorption of the structure can be modulated and accordingly the reflection of the surface can be modulated as well.

This disclosure relates to a spatial light modulator, etc., the spatial light modulator being capable of dynamically controlling the phase distribution of light, and provided with a structure having a smaller pixel arrangement period and suitable for high-speed operation. The spatial light modulator includes a substrate. The substrate has a front surface, a back surface, and through-holes arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally and penetrating between the front surface and the back surface. The spatial light modulator further includes layered structures each covering the inner walls of the through-holes. Each layered structure includes a first electroconductive layer on the inner wall, a dielectric layer on the first electroconductive layer and having optical transparency, and a second electroconductive layer on the dielectric layer and having optical transparency. At least one of the first and second electroconductive layers is electrically isolated for each group including one or more through-holes.

An optical modulator includes, a semiconductor substrate, an optical waveguide portion disposed on the semiconductor substrate, a first P-N junction disposed on the semiconductor substrate, and a second P-N disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The optical waveguide portion provides an optical path for light that is to be modulated. The first P-N junction is disposed on the semiconductor substrate along the optical path and defines a border between an N-doped portion disposed on the semiconductor substrate and a P-doped portion disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The second P-N junction is disposed on a portion of the semiconductor substrate alongside the optical path and spaced apart from the first P-N junction.

An electro-optic modulator for a waveguide is presented. The electro-optic modulator includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, a dielectric layer interposed between the second semiconductor layer and the first semiconductor layer and a coupling layer for coupling a guided mode of the waveguide to at least one of the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer. The electro-optic modulator is configured to induce a modulation on the guided mode of the waveguide by changing a refractive index in response to a voltage applied between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer.

A semiconductor structure according to the present disclosure includes a buried oxide layer, a first dielectric layer disposed over the buried oxide layer, a first waveguide feature disposed in the first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer disposed over the first dielectric layer and the first waveguide feature, a third dielectric layer disposed over the second dielectric layer, and a second waveguide feature disposed in the second dielectric layer and the third dielectric layer. The second waveguide feature is disposed over the first waveguide feature and a portion of the second waveguide feature vertically overlaps a portion of the first waveguide feature.

An electro-optical includes, in part, a multitude of phase modulators each of which includes, in part, a p-type semiconductor region, an n-type semiconductor region, and a χ.sup.(2) insulating dielectric material disposed between the p-type and n-type semiconductor regions. The electro-optical device may be a phased array in which each phase modulator is associated with a different one of the transmitting elements of the phased array. The χ.sup.(2) insulating dielectric material may be an organic polymer. The electro-optical device may further include, in part, a multitude of sensors each associated with a different one of the phase modulators. Each sensor is adapted to receive a phase modulated signal generated by the sensor’s associated phase modulator. The electro-optical device may further include, in part, a multitude of amplitude modulators each associated with a different one of the multitude of phase modulators.

An optical modulator includes a carrier and a waveguide disposed on the carrier. The waveguide includes a first optical coupling region, a second optical coupling region, first regions, and second regions. The first optical coupling region is doped with first dopants. The second optical coupling region abuts the first optical coupling region and is doped with second dopants. The first dopants and the second dopants are of different conductivity type. The first regions are doped with the first dopants and are arrange adjacent to the first optical coupling region. The first regions have respective increasing doping concentrations as distances of the first regions increase from the first optical coupling region. The second regions are doped with the second dopants and are arranged adjacent to the second optical coupling region. The second regions have respective increasing doping concentrations as distances of the second regions increase from the second optical coupling region.

An optical modulator circuit includes first and second electrodes, first and second p-n junction segments (PNJSs), and first and second optical waveguides. The first PNJS includes a first modulating p-n junction (MPNJ) in series with a first non-modulating device (NMD) that are connected to the first and second electrodes, respectively, where the first NMD includes a first substantially larger capacitance than the first MPNJ. The second PNJS includes a second NMD in series with a second MPNJ that are connected to the first and second electrodes, respectively, where the second NMD includes a second substantially larger capacitance than the second MPNJ. The first and second optical waveguides superimpose the first and second MPNJs, respectively, where the first and second MPNJs are configured to modulate a refractive index of the first and second optical waveguides, respectively, based on the substantially larger capacitance of the first NMD and the second NMD.