Investigation of the depletion-modulation characteristics of low-power 10.6-μm IR modulators based on the resonant plasma effect

Achieving low-power dissipation in modulators for 10.6 μm is a challenge, We confirm the previously predicted modulation characteristics of the integrated mirror optical switch based on the resonant plasma effect in highly doped semiconductors. At 12 V and 14 mW, an external modulation depth of 18% was measured. The proposed design limited the clocking frequency to a few megahertz. The achieved power dissipation is about three orders of magnitude less than the commercially available electrooptical modulators operating at these wavelengths.