Integration of electronics with lithium niobate photonics

Abstract

An electro-optical modulator assembly including a transistor including a gate, a drain, and a source disposed on a substrate, a photonic modulator including a first waveguide structure positioned between a first electrode and a second electrode, the photonic modulator being integrated with the transistor on the substrate, and a metal connection coupled between the drain of the transistor and one of the first and second electrodes of the photonic modulator.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electro-optical modulator assembly comprising:
 a transistor including a gate, a drain, a source, and a film forming a channel layer for the transistor disposed on a substrate;   a photonic modulator including a first waveguide structure positioned between a first electrode and a second electrode, the photonic modulator being disposed on the film forming the channel layer for the transistor; and   a metal connection coupled between the drain of the transistor and one of the first and second electrodes of the photonic modulator.   
     
     
         2 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a first oxide layer disposed on a top side of the transistor is bonded to a second oxide layer disposed on one side of the photonic modulator. 
     
     
         3 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the transistor is arranged in proximity to the photonic modulator to minimize a length of the metal connection and enable operation of the photonic modulator at frequencies up to and above 100 GHz. 
     
     
         4 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the transistor is a III-Nitride transistor. 
     
     
         5 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the transistor is a III-Nitride High-Electron-Mobility Transistor (HEMT). 
     
     
         6 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is one of a Silicon (Si) substrate and a Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the photonic modulator is configured as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator and includes a second waveguide structure positioned outside the first and second electrodes. 
     
     
         8 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the first and second waveguide structures are fabricated from at least one of Lithium Niobate (LiNbO 3 ) and Silicon Nitride (SiN) and configured to propagate an optical energy signal. 
     
     
         9 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the transistor is configured to receive a radio-frequency signal at the gate and to provide a modulation voltage to one of the first and second electrodes via the metal connection to induce a phase shift in the optical energy signal of the first waveguide structure. 
     
     
         10 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the optical energy signal of the first waveguide structure is combined with the optical energy signal of the second waveguide structure to provide an optical signal having an amplitude modulation corresponding to the radio-frequency signal received at the gate of the transistor. 
     
     
         11 . The electro-optical modulator assembly of  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the first and second waveguide structures are fabricated from a SiN film disposed on a slab of LiNbO 3 . 
     
     
         12 . A method of manufacturing an electro-optical modulator assembly, the method comprising:
 forming a transistor including a gate, a drain, and a source disposed on a first substrate;   forming a photonic modulator including a first waveguide structure positioned between a first electrode and a second electrode, the photonic modulator being disposed on a second substrate;   depositing an oxide layer over the gate, the drain, and the source of the transistor; and   bonding the oxide layer of the transistor to the photonic modulator such that the photonic modulator is integrated with the transistor and the photonic modulator is disposed over a film forming a channel layer for the transistor.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising forming a metal connection between the transistor and the photonic modulator to couple the drain of the transistor to one of the first and second electrodes of the photonic modulator. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the transistor is a III-Nitride transistor. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the transistor is a Gallium Nitride (GaN) High-Electron-Mobility Transistor (HEMT). 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first substrate is one of a Silicon (Si) substrate and a Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the photonic modulator is configured as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator and includes a second waveguide structure positioned outside the first and second electrodes. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the first and second waveguide structures are fabricated from at least one of Lithium Niobate (LiNbO 3 ) and Silicon Nitride (SiN) and configured to propagate optical energy.