Chalcogenide Acousto-Optic Modulator

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator (AOM) comprising an acoustic wave generating structure and a waveguide structure. The waveguide structure is spiral-shaped and includes several acousto-optic interaction regions. The acoustic wave generating structure is configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) electrical signal and generate acoustic waves based on the RF electrical signal. The waveguide structure is configured to receive incident light and acoustic waves, so that the acoustic waves modulate the incident light in the several acousto-optic interaction regions to output modulated light. By providing a spiral-shaped waveguide structure, the present disclosure enables the acoustic waves to modulate the incident light in the several acousto-optic interaction regions, significantly enhancing the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction and thus significantly improving the efficiency of the acousto-optic modulation, thereby achieving efficient optical signal modulation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of integrated optics technology, and in particular to a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator. Background Art

[0002] An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that uses the acousto-optic effect to modulate a light beam. Its operating principle involves the coupling of multiple physical fields. During this coupling process, acoustic waves driven by radio frequency (RF) signals change the local refractive index of the waveguide within the medium, thereby modulating the optical signal. AOMs are widely used in optical communications, laser displays, coherent quantum conversion, and optoelectronic imaging. Traditional AOMs typically use bulk acousto-optic materials such as quartz and lead sulfide. However, acousto-optic devices based on bulk crystal materials have weak energy confinement capabilities for photons and phonons, resulting in low acousto-optic interaction strength, which is not suitable for the development needs of modern optoelectronic integrated technology.

[0003] Compared to bulk materials, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) allow surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and optical waves to be confined at the micro- and nanoscale for propagation on the surface of piezoelectric thin films. This enables devices to exhibit high acoustic-optical energy overlap and low energy consumption at the wavelength scale. High-performance on-chip acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) require low-loss optical waveguides and highly efficient interdigital transducers (IDTs). The optical waveguide is used to guide the optical beam, and acoustic waves propagate within the waveguide to modulate the optical signal. IDTs, which are finger-shaped devices with periodically arranged metal electrodes, are suitable for excitation of SAWs. When placed on a piezoelectric material, an applied electric field induces corresponding elastic vibrations within the piezoelectric material due to the inverse piezoelectric effect. These elastic vibrations propagate through the material, forming continuous waves, known as SAWs. By rationally designing the configuration and relative positioning of the optical and acoustic components and integrating them into an on-chip platform, miniaturization, high integration density, and low power consumption can be achieved, making them a key development direction for future optical communication technologies.

[0004] With the development of thin-film piezoelectric material manufacturing technology, on-chip acousto-optic modulators have successfully integrated optical waveguides and interdigital transducers uniformly on the same optical film. Common piezoelectric materials include gallium arsenide (GaAs), polycrystalline aluminum nitride, and lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI). Among them, thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) is considered one of the most promising acousto-optic interaction platforms due to its excellent performance in piezoelectric transduction and electro-optic conversion, offering great potential for high-performance acousto-optic modulators. However, the low photoelastic coefficient of thin-film lithium niobate leads to weak acousto-optic modulation efficiency, which has become a major bottleneck in microwave-to-optic conversion in 5G / 6G (fifth-generation mobile communication technology / sixth-generation mobile communication technology) and emerging quantum signal processing applications.

[0005] To improve the efficiency of acousto-optic modulation (AOM), various acoustic cavity structures are often used to enhance the amplitude of acoustic waves. In non-suspended thin-film lithium niobate, an acoustic resonant cavity formed by a pair of metal gratings can enhance the interaction between surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and optical signals. However, longer grating sizes and diffraction effects increase acoustic wave losses, reducing the quality factor (Q factor) of the acoustic wave. This, in turn, increases the half-wave voltage-length product (VπL), reducing the AOM efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator in order to overcome the defect of low acousto-optic modulation efficiency of the on-chip integrated acousto-optic modulator in the prior art.

[0007] The present disclosure solves the above technical problems through the following technical solutions:

[0008] The present disclosure provides a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator, the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator comprising an acoustic wave generating structure and a waveguide structure, wherein the material of the waveguide structure is a chalcogenide material;

[0009] Wherein, the waveguide structure is spiral-shaped and includes several sections of acousto-optic interaction regions;

[0010] The sound wave generating structure is used to receive a radio frequency electrical signal and generate a sound wave based on the radio frequency electrical signal;

[0011] The waveguide structure is used to receive incident light and the acoustic wave, so that the acoustic wave modulates the incident light in several sections of the acoustic-optical interaction regions to output modulated light.

[0012] Optionally, the chalcogenide material includes chalcogenide glass;

[0013] and / or,

[0014] The waveguide structure has a width of 200nm-10µm, a height of 300nm-2000nm, and an operating wavelength of 600nm-10000nm;

[0015] and / or,

[0016] The frequency of the sound wave is 100MHz-8GHz;

[0017] and / or,

[0018] The wavelength of the sound wave is 1µm-20µm.

[0019] Optionally, the acoustic wave generating structure includes a piezoelectric layer and an interdigital transducer;

[0020] The interdigital transducer is provided on the piezoelectric layer;

[0021] The interdigital transducer is used to receive the radio frequency electrical signal to generate the acoustic wave in the piezoelectric layer.

[0022] Optionally, the material of the piezoelectric layer is lithium niobate;

[0023] and / or,

[0024] The thickness of the piezoelectric layer is 100 nm-1000 nm.

[0025] Optionally, the interdigital transducer is a dual-electrode structure;

[0026] and / or,

[0027] The working bandwidth of the IDT is 100 MHz to 600 MHz.

[0028] Optionally, the interdigital transducer includes a plurality of interdigital electrodes.

[0029] Optionally, the material of the interdigital electrodes is aluminum, copper or gold;

[0030] and / or,

[0031] The thickness of the interdigital electrodes is 50nm-300nm;

[0032] and / or,

[0033] The number of pairs of the interdigital electrodes is 30-100;

[0034] and / or,

[0035] The width of the interdigital electrodes is 100 nm-2000 nm.

[0036] Optionally, the sound wave generating structure further includes a plurality of reflection gratings;

[0037] A plurality of reflection gratings are provided on the piezoelectric layer and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the interdigital transducer;

[0038] The reflection grating is used to reflect the sound wave to enhance the amplitude of the sound wave.

[0039] Optionally, the reflective grid is made of metal;

[0040] and / or,

[0041] The electrode width of the reflective grid is 100nm-2000nm;

[0042] and / or,

[0043] The number of periods of the reflective grating is 30-100;

[0044] and / or,

[0045] The number of pairs of the reflection grating is 30-100.

[0046] Optionally, the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator further includes a substrate layer disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure, and the material of the substrate layer is silicon;

[0047] and / or,

[0048] The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator further includes a silicon dioxide oxide layer disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure.

[0049] On the basis of conforming to the common sense in this field, the above-mentioned preferred conditions can be arbitrarily combined to obtain the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0050] The positive progress of this disclosure is:

[0051] The present invention provides a spiral waveguide structure, so that the sound wave modulates the incident light in several sections of the acousto-optic interaction area, significantly enhancing the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction, thereby greatly improving the acousto-optic modulation efficiency and achieving efficient optical signal modulation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a module of a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to Example 1 of the present disclosure;

[0053] Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to Example 2 of the present disclosure;

[0054] Figure 3 1. A top view of the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to Example 2 of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The present disclosure is further illustrated below by way of examples, but the present disclosure is not limited to the scope of the examples.

[0056] Example 1

[0057] This embodiment provides a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator, such as Figure 1 As shown, the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator includes an acoustic wave generating structure 1 and a waveguide structure 2;

[0058] The waveguide structure 2 is spiral-shaped and includes several sections of acousto-optic interaction regions. The material of the waveguide structure is a chalcogenide material.

[0059] The sound wave generating structure 1 is used to receive a radio frequency electrical signal and generate a sound wave based on the radio frequency electrical signal;

[0060] The waveguide structure 2 is used to receive incident light and acoustic waves, so that the acoustic waves modulate the incident light in several sections of acoustic-optical interaction regions to output modulated light.

[0061] Specifically, the waveguide structure is a spiral optical waveguide structure having multiple segments of acousto-optic interaction regions, wherein the number of segments of the acousto-optic interaction regions is ≥2, for example, 8 segments.

[0062] The applied radio frequency electrical signal generates an acoustic wave, namely a surface acoustic wave, through the acoustic wave generating structure. The generated surface acoustic wave is transmitted to the spiral optical waveguide structure, realizing the interaction between the acoustic field and the light field.

[0063] When the diffraction efficiency of light is small, the diffraction efficiency is proportional to the square of the interaction length, and the corresponding formula is as follows:

[0064] ;

[0065] Where η represents the diffraction efficiency of light, M represents the acousto-optic interaction coefficient, which depends on the acousto-optic properties of the material, L represents the interaction length between light and sound waves, that is, the length of the effective interaction area in the waveguide structure, and Λ represents the wavelength of the light wave.

[0066] In the small signal approximation, that is, when the diffraction efficiency of light is small, sin 2 (x)≈x 2 , where x represents the independent variable, we can get: , that is, the diffraction efficiency is proportional to the square of the interaction length L.

[0067] Through the spiral optical waveguide structure, the incident light propagates along a spiral trajectory. The incident light interacts with the acoustic wave on a limited propagation path. Increasing the interaction length L can enhance the diffraction effect of light, effectively enhancing the photoacoustic interaction, thereby improving the modulation efficiency.

[0068] In this embodiment, since the diffraction efficiency is proportional to the square of the interaction length, by setting up a spiral waveguide structure, its unique geometric advantages are fully utilized, so that the sound wave modulates the incident light in several sections of the acousto-optic interaction area, significantly enhancing the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction, thereby greatly improving the acousto-optic modulation efficiency and achieving efficient optical signal modulation.

[0069] Example 2

[0070] This embodiment provides a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator, which is a further improvement on the first embodiment.

[0071] In one feasible solution, Figure 2 As shown, the acoustic wave generating structure 1 includes a piezoelectric layer 11 and an interdigital transducer 12;

[0072] The interdigital transducer 12 is provided on the piezoelectric layer 11;

[0073] The IDT 12 is used to receive a radio frequency electrical signal to generate an acoustic wave in the piezoelectric layer 11 .

[0074] Specifically, an applied radio frequency electrical signal, or microwave input, is converted into a surface acoustic wave (SAW) signal through the inverse piezoelectric coupling effect of the piezoelectric layer via an interdigital transducer. These surface acoustic waves induce a mechanical strain field on the surface of the piezoelectric layer, which in turn excites Rayleigh waves. These Rayleigh waves then act on the optical waveguide, causing the refractive index of the waveguide to change due to optomechanical coupling (including the moving boundary effect, the elasto-optic effect, and the electro-optic effect), thus enabling the interaction between the acoustic and optical fields.

[0075] In this solution, the radio frequency electrical signal is converted into sound waves through the piezoelectric layer and the interdigital transducer, thereby ensuring the effectiveness and reliability of the sound wave generation structure.

[0076] In one embodiment, the material of the piezoelectric layer 11 is lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ).

[0077] Specifically, the piezoelectric layer is a lithium niobate film, and the tangent direction of the lithium niobate film is YX, which means that the normal direction of the device surface is along the Y axis of the crystal, and the surface acoustic wave propagation direction is along the X axis of the crystal.

[0078] In this scheme, by using a piezoelectric layer made of lithium niobate material, the preparation process is simple and the high-voltage electrical properties of lithium niobate thin film materials are fully utilized to successfully realize an acousto-optic modulator with high integration and high modulation efficiency, breaking through the technical bottleneck of improving acousto-optic modulation efficiency.

[0079] In one embodiment, the chalcogenide material includes chalcogenide glass.

[0080] Specifically, the waveguide structure is a chalcogenide optical waveguide, such as Ge 28 Sb 12 Se 60 (A type of chalcogenide glass.) Chalcogenide materials have a higher photoelastic coefficient, approximately twice that of lithium niobate.

[0081] In this scheme, compared to the piezoelectric layer and waveguide structure formed by a homogeneous integrated structure of lithium niobate thin films, a chalcogenide-based waveguide structure is employed. This hybrid integration of lithium niobate thin films and chalcogenide materials effectively confines most of the optical energy within the ChG (chalcogenide glass) waveguide, fully leveraging the dominant photoelastic effect and significantly improving modulation efficiency. This optimization not only fully exploits the excellent optical properties of chalcogenide materials but also provides greater flexibility and enhanced performance potential for optical device design, thus demonstrating significant advantages in high-speed optical modulation applications. The simple fabrication process successfully achieves a highly integrated and highly efficient chalcogenide-based AOM, breaking through the technical bottleneck of improving AOM efficiency. The entire AOM device is hybrid-integrated on a lithium niobate thin film and chalcogenide thin film platform, demonstrating excellent process compatibility, exceptional stability, and scalability. Furthermore, this design combines simple processing, high robustness, and large-scale integration capabilities, opening up new approaches and solutions for the practical application of thin-film AOMs.

[0082] In one feasible solution, the waveguide structure 2 has a width of 200 nm to 10 µm, a height of 300 nm to 2000 nm, and an operating wavelength of 600 nm to 10000 nm.

[0083] In this scheme, the modulation efficiency of the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator is improved by optimizing the design of parameters such as the width, height and operating wavelength of the waveguide structure.

[0084] In one embodiment, the frequency of the sound wave is 100 MHz-8 GHz, and / or the wavelength of the sound wave is 1 µm-20 µm.

[0085] Specifically, the IDT can excite Rayleigh surface acoustic waves (SAWs) with a frequency range of 100 MHz to 8 GHz. The wavelength of the SAWs is 1 µm to 20 µm.

[0086] In this scheme, the modulation efficiency of the sulfur-based acousto-optic modulator is improved by optimizing the frequency and wavelength of the surface acoustic wave.

[0087] In one feasible solution, the thickness of the piezoelectric layer 11 is 100 nm-1000 nm.

[0088] Specifically, the thickness of the lithium niobate film is 100 nm-1000 nm.

[0089] In this scheme, the modulation efficiency of the sulfur-based acousto-optic modulator is improved by optimizing the thickness of the piezoelectric layer.

[0090] In one embodiment, the IDT 12 has a dual-electrode structure.

[0091] In this solution, by adopting an interdigital transducer with a dual-electrode structure, the acoustic wave bandwidth is effectively improved, the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction is enhanced, and thus the acousto-optic modulation efficiency is improved.

[0092] In one feasible embodiment, the operating bandwidth of the IDT 12 is 100 MHz-600 MHz, and / or the IDT 12 includes a plurality of IDT electrodes, and / or the material of the IDT electrodes of the IDT 12 is aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) or gold (Au), and / or the thickness of the IDT electrodes of the IDT 12 is 50 nm-300 nm, and / or the number of pairs of the IDT electrodes of the IDT 12 is 30-100, and / or the width of the IDT electrodes of the IDT 12 is 100 nm-2000 nm.

[0093] In this scheme, the modulation efficiency of the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator is improved by optimizing the working bandwidth of the interdigital transducer, the material, thickness, logarithm, and width of the interdigital electrodes.

[0094] In an practicable solution, the sound wave generating structure 1 further includes a plurality of reflection gratings 13;

[0095] A plurality of reflection gratings 13 are provided on the piezoelectric layer 11 and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the interdigital transducers 12;

[0096] The reflection grid 13 is used to reflect the sound waves to enhance the amplitude of the sound waves.

[0097] Specifically, two groups of reflection gratings are provided, and the two groups of reflection gratings are symmetrically arranged with respect to the IDT, and are respectively located on both sides of the IDT.

[0098] The IDT is arranged on the inner side of the chalcogenide optical waveguide, and the two sets of reflection gratings are arranged on the outer side of the chalcogenide optical waveguide; alternatively, the IDT is arranged on the outer side of the chalcogenide optical waveguide, and the two sets of reflection gratings are arranged on the outer side and the inner side of the chalcogenide optical waveguide respectively.

[0099] In addition, the waveguide width of the reflection grating matches the wavelength of the acoustic wave, satisfying the Bragg reflection condition, maximizing the acoustic wave energy and improving the efficiency of acousto-optic modulation.

[0100] In this solution, a reflection grating is set up to reflect the sound waves, and the reflected sound waves and the excited sound waves are coherently constructive, which greatly enhances the amplitude of the sound waves and significantly enhances the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction.

[0101] In one feasible solution, the material of the reflective grating 13 is metal, and / or the electrode width of the reflective grating 13 is 100nm-2000nm, and / or the number of periods of the reflective grating 13 is 30-100, and / or the number of logarithms of the reflective grating 13 is 30-100.

[0102] In this scheme, the modulation efficiency of the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator is improved by optimizing the design of the parameters such as the material, electrode width, number of periods, and logarithm of the reflector.

[0103] In one feasible solution, the chalcogenide AOM further includes a substrate layer 3 disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure 1, wherein the material of the substrate layer 3 is silicon (Si), and / or the chalcogenide AOM further includes a silicon dioxide (SiO2) oxide layer 4 disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure 1.

[0104] Specifically, the chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator (CAOM) comprises, from bottom to top, a silicon substrate layer, a silicon dioxide oxide layer, and a lithium niobate-chalcogenide glass heterolayer. The lithium niobate-chalcogenide glass heterolayer comprises a lithium niobate thin film and a chalcogenide optical waveguide heterogeneously integrated on the lithium niobate thin film. The lithium niobate thin film also houses an interdigital transducer and a reflector grating. The lithium niobate substrate comprises a silicon dioxide oxide layer and a lithium niobate thin film on the silicon dioxide oxide layer. The lithium niobate-chalcogenide glass heterolayer is non-suspended relative to the lithium niobate substrate, meaning it is directly attached to the lithium niobate substrate.

[0105] In this solution, a complete chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator is formed by setting a silicon substrate layer and a silicon dioxide oxide layer, thereby ensuring the reliability of the device.

[0106] In addition, in order to obtain efficient acousto-optic interaction, the phase matching condition must be met:

[0107] Δk=k optical −k diff −k acoustic =0;

[0108] Among them, Δk represents the phase difference, k optical represents the wave vector of the light wave, k diff represents the wave vector of diffracted light, k acoustic Represents the wave vector of the surface acoustic wave.

[0109] like Figure 3Shown is a top view of a chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator. When a surface acoustic wave propagates in a spiral waveguide, the probe wave, or light wave, is scattered in several acousto-optic interaction regions, i.e., the waveguide sidebands within the interaction segments. The inverted S-bend waveguide region in the middle of the waveguide structure has a severe phase mismatch and is an ineffective region for acousto-optic scattering, not participating in effective interaction. The curved portion of the inverted S-bend waveguide region introduces additional optical path differences and phase changes, destroying the quasi-phase matching conditions originally established in the straight waveguide, rendering this section an ineffective region. Furthermore, the curved portion of the inverted S-bend waveguide region may cause excessive attenuation of the acoustic wave or excessive scattering of the light wave, resulting in excessive transmission loss. In the design, multiple straight waveguide segments are used for acousto-optic interaction, and the inverted S-bend waveguide region primarily serves to connect different acousto-optic interaction regions and does not directly participate in effective modulation.

[0110] In a spiral optical waveguide structure, the amplitudes of the modulated sideband light generated by each interacting segment interfere with each other. Therefore, the amplitude of the modulated sideband light at the output port is the sum of the amplitudes of the modulated sideband light from all interacting segments and their phase differences. The phase difference consists of two components: the optical phase difference and the acoustic phase difference. Because the vector difference between the probe wave and the modulated sideband wave (the acoustic wave) is extremely small, the effect of the optical phase difference on the amplitude of the modulated sideband light is negligible, while the acoustic phase difference becomes the key influencing factor, as shown in the following formula:

[0111] ;

[0112] Where A represents the amplitude of the modulated sideband light generated by each interaction segment. Assuming that the amplitude of the modulated sideband light generated by each interaction segment is equal, ф i Represents the corresponding total phase, including the optical phase difference and the acoustic phase difference, j 2 =-1,E i represents the modulated sideband light field generated by each interaction segment i.

[0113] Since the optical phase difference can be ignored, the total phase is mainly composed of the acoustic phase difference Φ i The contribution, therefore, is:

[0114] ф i ≈Ф i ;

[0115] Then, the formula corresponding to the total modulated light field at the output port is as follows:

[0116] ;

[0117] Here, N represents the number of interacting segments.

[0118] Acoustic phase difference Ф iIt is determined by the geometric spacing between the interaction segments and the propagation characteristics of the surface acoustic wave and can be expressed as:

[0119] Ф i =q*d i ;

[0120] Where q represents the wave vector of the surface acoustic wave in the propagation direction, d i Represents the propagation distance of the i-th segment relative to the first segment.

[0121] By designing the interaction section of the waveguide, the acoustic phase difference Φ i Maintain equal spacing △Φ between all interaction segments, i.e. Ф i =i△Φ, then the amplitude of the total modulated light field is:

[0122] ;

[0123] The above formula is the sum of complex exponentials of a finite arithmetic series, which can be calculated using the geometric series summation formula to obtain:

[0124] ;

[0125] The acousto-optic modulation efficiency is related to the output light intensity (i.e. |Eout| 2 ), that is,

[0126] ;

[0127] Among them, I mod Indicates the modulation efficiency.

[0128] To optimize phase matching, the minimum diameter d0 and lateral distance Δd of adjacent interaction segments of the spiral optical waveguide structure are both integer multiples of the lateral period T of the surface acoustic wave, thereby ensuring that the acoustic phase difference between each interaction segment is an integer multiple of 2π, that is, the acoustic phase of all interaction segments of the spiral optical waveguide is well matched, △Φ=2kπ, where k is an integer. The modulated sideband light amplitudes of all interaction segments are coherently superimposed to obtain maximum output. This design can minimize the fluctuations caused by the acoustic phase difference and ensure the best interference effect of the modulated sideband light. In addition, because the lateral distance of the spiral optical waveguide is much larger than the lateral period T of the surface acoustic wave, the modulated sideband light amplitude is much more sensitive to the acoustic phase difference than to the optical phase difference. The spiral optical waveguide structure can not only significantly improve the efficiency of acousto-optic modulation, but also effectively ensure the stability and consistency of the modulated light output.

[0129] In this embodiment, by providing a spiral waveguide structure, the acoustic wave modulates the incident light in several sections of the acousto-optic interaction region, significantly enhancing the intensity of the acousto-optic interaction, thereby greatly improving the acousto-optic modulation efficiency and achieving efficient optical signal modulation.

[0130] While specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that these are merely illustrative and that the scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present disclosure, and such changes and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator, characterized in that: The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator includes an acoustic wave generating structure and a waveguide structure; The waveguide structure is spiral-shaped and includes several sections of acousto-optic interaction regions. The material of the waveguide structure is Ge 28 Sb 12 Se 60 ; The sound wave generating structure is used to receive a radio frequency electrical signal and generate a sound wave based on the radio frequency electrical signal; Wherein, the minimum diameter and lateral distance between adjacent acousto-optic interaction regions are both integer multiples of the lateral period of the acoustic wave; The waveguide structure is used to receive incident light and the acoustic wave, so that the acoustic wave modulates the incident light in several sections of the acoustic-optical interaction regions to output modulated light.

2. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 1, wherein The waveguide structure has a width of 200nm-10µm, a height of 300nm-2000nm, and an operating wavelength of 600nm-10000nm; and / or, The frequency of the sound wave is 100MHz-8GHz; and / or, The wavelength of the sound wave is 1µm-20µm.

3. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 1, wherein The acoustic wave generating structure includes a piezoelectric layer and an interdigital transducer; The interdigital transducer is provided on the piezoelectric layer; The interdigital transducer is used to receive the radio frequency electrical signal to generate the acoustic wave in the piezoelectric layer.

4. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 3, wherein: The material of the piezoelectric layer is lithium niobate; and / or, The thickness of the piezoelectric layer is 100 nm-1000 nm.

5. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 3, wherein: The interdigital transducer is a dual-electrode structure; and / or, The working bandwidth of the IDT is 100 MHz to 600 MHz.

6. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 3, wherein: The interdigital transducer includes a plurality of interdigital electrodes.

7. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 6, wherein: The material of the interdigital electrodes is aluminum, copper or gold; and / or, The thickness of the interdigital electrodes is 50nm-300nm; and / or, The number of pairs of the interdigital electrodes is 30-100; and / or, The width of the interdigital electrodes is 100 nm-2000 nm.

8. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 3, wherein: The acoustic wave generating structure further comprises a plurality of reflection gratings; A plurality of reflection gratings are provided on the piezoelectric layer and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the interdigital transducer; The reflection grating is used to reflect the sound wave to enhance the amplitude of the sound wave.

9. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to claim 8, wherein The material of the reflective grid is metal; and / or, The electrode width of the reflective grid is 100nm-2000nm; and / or, The number of periods of the reflective grating is 30-100; and / or, The number of pairs of the reflection grating is 30-100.

10. The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator further includes a substrate layer disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure, wherein the substrate layer is made of silicon; and / or, The chalcogenide acousto-optic modulator further includes a silicon dioxide oxide layer disposed below the acoustic wave generating structure.

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