High-efficiency AlN piezo-optomechanical resonator for reconfigurable photonic circuits

Ultralow power consumption, high-speed tuning elements are critical for advanced photonic integrated circuits. To overcome the power and speed limitations of conventional thermo-optic and free-carrier tuning mechanisms, we report a novel piezoelectrically actuated optomechanical microring resonator on an aluminum-nitride (AlN) platform. We implement a hybrid optomechanical waveguide composed of a silicon-nitride slab and a silicon strip waveguide, achieving a 30 nm interlayer gap within the microring region. Mechanical displacement is induced via the piezoelectric response of AlN, which directly modulates the resonance wavelength of a high- Q microring resonator. The device exhibits linear tuning behavior with a wavelength tuning efficiency of 9.46 pm/V and a power efficiency of 0.053 nW/pm at an operating wavelength of 1534 nm. Dynamic characterization reveals a tuning response faster than 128 ns. The demonstrated CMOS-compatible hybrid piezo-optomechanical resonator is compatible with an 8-inch wafer-scale process, offers excellent scalability for volume production, and holds great promise for ultralow-power programmable photonics, optical switching, and light detection and ranging.