Abstract
Commercial production of integrated photonic devices is limited by scalability of desirable material platforms. We explore a relatively new photonic material, AlScN, for its use in electro-optic phase shifting and modulation. Its CMOS-compatibility could facilitate large-scale production of integrated photonic modulators, and it exhibits an enhanced second-order optical nonlinearity compared to intrinsic AlN, indicating the possibility for efficient modulation. Here, we measure the electro-optic effect in Al(0.80)Sc(0.20)N-based phase shifters. We utilized the TM0 mode, allowing use of the r (33) electro-optic coefficient, and demonstrated V (π) L around 750 V cm. Since the electro-optic response is smaller than expected, we discuss potential causes for the reduced response and future outlook for AlScN-based photonics.