All-optical high-speed modulation of THz transmission through silicon core optical fibers

High speed optical modulation of THz radiation is of interest for information processing and communications applications. In this paper infrared femtosecond pulses are used to generate free carriers that reduce the THz transmission of silicon based waveguides over a broad spectral range. Up to96% modulation is observed from 0.5to7THz in an optical fiber with a 210μm diameter gold-doped silicon core. The observed carrier recombination time of 2.0±0.2ns makes this material suitable for high speed all-optical signal processing. These results show both enhanced modulation depth and reduced carrier lifetime when compared to the performance of a high resistivity float zone silicon rectangular guide with comparable cross sectional area.