Patent ID: 11914264
Assignee: OPENLIGHT PHOTONICS, INC.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 14:
15. A method of modulating light guided in a silicon waveguide, the method comprising:
vertically coupling the light at an operating wavelength from the silicon waveguide into an optically active ring waveguide of a compound semiconductor p-i-n diode structure formed above the silicon waveguide, the ring waveguide having an associated resonance wavelength;
applying a voltage across the p-i-n diode structure to thereby modulate a refractive index in the ring waveguide, the voltage including a direct-current (DC) reverse bias voltage and a swing voltage; and
heating the p-i-n diode structure,
wherein the DC reverse bias voltage is set to a stored value that maximizes a modulator tuning efficiency of shifting, by a change in the applied voltage, the resonance wavelength, subject to exceeding a specified loss cutoff level for a maximum modulator insertion loss associated with the resonance wavelength, and
wherein a power of the heater is set to a value that optimizes an offset between the operating wavelength and the resonance wavelength at the set value of the DC reverse bias voltage to achieve a target insertion loss at the operating wavelength.