Attojoule-per-bit electrical energy consumption optical modulators at 4K and 300K through energy harvesting

We present a CMOS photonic silicon optical modulator exploiting the photovoltaic effect to achieve electrical gain using an integrated transistor. Operation at 300K and 4K with
$< \mathbf{100}\ \mathbf{mVpp}$
drive and aJ/bit electrical energy consumption at speeds up to 100 MHz is demonstrated.