Silicon based ultra-compact modulator with photonic crystal

We describe two Si based optical-electric modulators based on photonic crystals (PC), which are capable of monolithically integrated with Si photonic integrated circuits. One is a modulator based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), the other is a modulator based on photonic band gap. These devices may enable the deployment of ultra-compact (-200 mu m) devices with high extinction ratio and low insertion loss.