Optical device including a grated optical waveguide to improve modulation efficiency

An electronic system, comprising:

• a processing resource;
• a storage medium communicatively coupled to the processing resource;
• and
• a photonic integrated circuit communicatively coupled to the processing resource and comprising an optical device, wherein the optical device comprises:
• an optical waveguide comprising a grating formed along a length of the optical waveguide, wherein the optical waveguide is an annular resonator, and wherein the length of the optical waveguide is a circumferential length of the optical waveguide;
• an insulating layer formed on a first side of the optical waveguide, wherein a first side of the insulating layer is disposed proximate to the first side of the optical waveguide;
• and
• an electrically conductive layer formed on a second side of the insulating layer, wherein the optical waveguide, the insulating layer, and the electrically conductive layer form a waveguide integrated capacitor, wherein the grating in the optical waveguide causes an optical mode of an optical signal passing through the optical waveguide to overlap with the optical waveguide and the electrically conductive layer thereby resulting in an enhanced modulation efficiency via the waveguide integrated capacitor.

A method of fabricating an optical device, comprising:

• providing a substrate comprising a device layer;
• forming an optical waveguide in the device layer, wherein forming the optical waveguide comprises forming a grating along a length of the optical waveguide, wherein the optical waveguide is an annular resonator, and wherein the length of the optical waveguide is a circumferential length of the optical waveguide;
• forming an insulating layer on a first side of the optical waveguide, wherein a first side of the insulating layer is disposed proximate to the first side of the optical waveguide;
• and
• forming an electrically conductive layer on a second side of the insulating layer, wherein the optical waveguide, the insulating layer, and the electrically conductive layer form a waveguide integrated capacitor, wherein the grating in the optical waveguide causes an optical mode of an optical signal passing through the optical waveguide to overlap with the optical waveguide and the electrically conductive layer thereby resulting in an enhanced modulation efficiency via the waveguide integrated capacitor.