Monolithic electro-optic platform on silicon with bandwidth of 100 GHz and beyond

Extending electro-optic bandwidth of native silicon photonic devices well beyond 100 GHz remains a challenge. We demonstrate a scalable C-band silicon photonic platform monolithically integrating ultra-high speed germanium–silicon electro absorption modulators and fin photodiodes. We apply a delta-layer doping process to incorporate Si into Ge. Two electro-absorption modulator variants with lengths of 40 µm and 20 µm exhibit electro optic 3-dB bandwidths of 100 GHz and well beyond 110 GHz, respectively. Co-integrated GeSi-fin photodiodes achieve 3-dB bandwidths of more than 200 GHz. Involving only platform integrated absorption modulators and fin photodiodes, we demonstrate open-eyes in a large signal experiment at 140 Gbit/s. This work establishes an important milestone for next generation optical communication technology. Researchers at the Leibniz-Institute IHP demonstrate a silicon photonic platform that monolithically integrates ultra-fast >110 GHz germanium-silicon electro-absorption modulators and >200 GHz fin photodiodes, advancing next-gen optical communication technology.