Graphene based on-chip variable optical attenuator operating at 855 nm wavelength

This work reports on the fabrication and characterization of a graphene based variable optical attenuator integrated on a photonic Si3N4 waveguide and operating at 855 nm wavelength. The variable optical attenuator utilizes the gate voltage dependent optical absorption of a graphene layer, located in the evanescent field of the waveguide. A maximum attenuation of 17 dB is obtained at −3 V gate voltages for a device length of 700 µm. The measured voltage dependent absorption was found to be in good agreement with theoretical simulations, taking into account inter- and intra-band optical conductivity of graphene. An outlook is given on possible margins for increasing the operation speed and reducing the insertion loss of the device, using an optimized layout and improved fabrication processes.