Piezoelectric MEMS Phase Modulator for Silicon Nitride Platform in the Visible Spectrum

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Dullo, Firehun T., Thrane, Paul C., Jayakumar, Nikhil, Skokic, Zeljko, Dirdal, Christopher A., Gjessing, Jo, Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Dullo, Firehun T.
Thrane, Paul C.
Jayakumar, Nikhil
Skokic, Zeljko
Dirdal, Christopher A.
Gjessing, Jo
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
author_facet Dullo, Firehun T.
Thrane, Paul C.
Jayakumar, Nikhil
Skokic, Zeljko
Dirdal, Christopher A.
Gjessing, Jo
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
contents Active photonic integrated circuits (PICs) in the visible spectrum are essential for on-chip applications, requiring low-loss waveguides with broad transparency and efficient, low-power phase modulation. Here, we demonstrate a compact, ultra-low-power phase modulator based on a silicon nitride (Si$_3$N$_4$) waveguide integrated with thin-film lead zirconate titanate (PZT) that actuates a bridge-type MEMS. The suspended actuator exploits PZT's strong piezoelectric effect to induce mechanically driven phase shifts, enabling efficient modulation in a Mach--Zehnder interferometer. For 3~mm and 5~mm modulators, phase shifts of $1.45π$ and $2.5π$ are achieved at 10~V, corresponding to a scalability metric ($V_π\cdot L$) of 2.25~V$\cdot$cm at 635~nm. This represents an order-of-magnitude improvement in scalability over stress-optic PZT modulators. The devices also exhibit ultralow power consumption ($\sim 12\,\mathrm{nW}$), $\sim 5\,\mathrm{ms}$ rise time, and optical loss $< 0.75\,\mathrm{dB/cm}$. Furthermore, we demonstrate on-chip beam shaping.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_16577
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Piezoelectric MEMS Phase Modulator for Silicon Nitride Platform in the Visible Spectrum
Dullo, Firehun T.
Thrane, Paul C.
Jayakumar, Nikhil
Skokic, Zeljko
Dirdal, Christopher A.
Gjessing, Jo
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
Optics
Applied Physics
Active photonic integrated circuits (PICs) in the visible spectrum are essential for on-chip applications, requiring low-loss waveguides with broad transparency and efficient, low-power phase modulation. Here, we demonstrate a compact, ultra-low-power phase modulator based on a silicon nitride (Si$_3$N$_4$) waveguide integrated with thin-film lead zirconate titanate (PZT) that actuates a bridge-type MEMS. The suspended actuator exploits PZT's strong piezoelectric effect to induce mechanically driven phase shifts, enabling efficient modulation in a Mach--Zehnder interferometer. For 3~mm and 5~mm modulators, phase shifts of $1.45π$ and $2.5π$ are achieved at 10~V, corresponding to a scalability metric ($V_π\cdot L$) of 2.25~V$\cdot$cm at 635~nm. This represents an order-of-magnitude improvement in scalability over stress-optic PZT modulators. The devices also exhibit ultralow power consumption ($\sim 12\,\mathrm{nW}$), $\sim 5\,\mathrm{ms}$ rise time, and optical loss $< 0.75\,\mathrm{dB/cm}$. Furthermore, we demonstrate on-chip beam shaping.
title Piezoelectric MEMS Phase Modulator for Silicon Nitride Platform in the Visible Spectrum
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.16577