Lightwave Logic has achieved world-record performance for a polymer modulator, as demonstrated in an optical transmission experiment by ETH Zurich, using its proprietary, advanced “Perkinamine” chromophores and Polariton Technologies’ newest plasmonic EO modulator, a silicon-photonics-based plasmonic racetrack modulator offering energy-efficient, low-loss, and high-speed modulation in a compact footprint.
Polariton’s plasmonic modulator transmitted 220 Gbps OOK and 408 Gbps 8PAM. Transmission of an optical signal was conducted over 100 m using a low-voltage electrical drive of 0.6Vp, an on-chip loss of 1 dB, and an optical 3 dB bandwidth of beyond 110 GHz.
The groundbreaking results were presented as a post-deadline paper at the prestigious European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC).
“Our mission at Lightwave Logic is to continually push the frontiers of high-speed performance for electro-optic polymers, shaping the ‘impossible’ into reality and a new normal for the industry,” said Dr. Michael Lebby, Chief Executive Officer of Lightwave Logic. “Through our collaboration with Polariton, we have achieved a new world-record for a racetrack plasmonic modulator device structure. The acceptance of a post-deadline peer reviewed paper at ECOC 2021 provides third party validation of this incredible result.
“We now turn our attention to further optimizing this performance with silicon foundries through both materials and optical device design. With performance achievements such as this, we believe that many companies will quickly see the potential impact that high performance optical switching devices using our polymers can have on their business,” concluded Lebby.
Dr. Wolfgang Heni, Co-CTO at Polariton, added: “Polariton has always been dedicated to providing best-in-class devices with the highest-performance. Our goal is to make optical communications faster, the technology more scalable and with it, components and infrastructure more energy-efficient. Our recent demonstration of a plasmonic racetrack modulator once again showcased how the unique combination of plasmonics, silicon photonics, and organic electro-optics offers high-speed and energy-efficient components. We are pleased to have worked with Lightwave Logic, providing us with high-performance and reliable Perkinamine™ chromophores to demonstrate this new world record, further highlighting the benefits of our plasmonic modulator technology. Together, we hope to revolutionize the future of the internet through adoption of next-generation electro-optic polymer platforms.”
