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Yu H, Tu D, Huang X, Yin Y, Yu Z, Guan H, Jiang L, Li Z. A Novel Silicon Forward-Biased PIN Mach-Zehnder Modulator with Two Operating States. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:1608. [PMID: 37630144 PMCID: PMC10456945 DOI: 10.3390/mi14081608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we demonstrate a silicon forward-biased positive intrinsic negative (PIN) Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM), which has two operating states of high efficiency and high speed. The two operating states are switched by changing the position where the electric signal is loaded. The modulator incorporates a PIN phase shifter integrated with the passive resistance and capacitance (RC) equalizer (PIN-RC), which expands the electro-optic (E-O) bandwidth by equalizing it with modulation efficiency. The fabricated modulator exhibits a low insertion loss of 1.29 dB in two operating states and a compact design with a phase shifter length of 500 μm. The modulation efficiencies are 0.0088 V·cm and 1.43 V·cm, and the corresponding 3 dB E-O bandwidths are 200 MHz and 7 GHz, respectively. The high-speed modulation performance of the modulator is confirmed by non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation with a data rate of 15 Gbps without any pre-emphasis or post-processing. The presented modulator shows functional flexibility, low insertion loss, and a compact footprint, and it can be suitable for applications like optical switch arrays and analog signal processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Yu
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Donghe Tu
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xingrui Huang
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yuxiang Yin
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Zhiguo Yu
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Huan Guan
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Lei Jiang
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Zhiyong Li
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
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Zeng Z, Ding D, Gao Q, Yang N, Zhao P, Jiang W. Variation of Signal Reflection on Electrodes of Silicon Mach-Zehnder Modulators: Influence of Nanoscale Variation and Mitigation Strategies. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11020499. [PMID: 33669399 PMCID: PMC7920439 DOI: 10.3390/nano11020499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Driving signal reflection on traveling wave electrodes (TWEs) is a critical issue in Mach–Zehnder modulators. Fabrication variation often causes a random variation in the electrode impedance and the signal reflection, which induces modulation characteristics variation. The variation of reflection could be intertwined with the variation of other electrode characteristics, such as microwave signal attenuation, resulting in complexity. Here, we characterize the (partial) correlation coefficients between the reflection and modulation characteristics at different bit rates. Decreasing correlation at higher bit rates is observed. Device physics analysis shows how the observed variation can be related to nanoscale variation of material properties, particularly in the embedded diode responsible for electro-optic modulation. We develop a detailed theory to analyze two variation modes of the diode (P-i-N diode or overlapping P/N regions), which reveal insight beyond simplistic diode models. Microwave signal attenuation tends to reduce the correlation with on-electrode reflection, particularly at high bit rates. The theory shows the relative importance of conductor-induced attenuation and “dielectric”-induced attenuation, with different dependence on the frequency and fabrication variation. Strategies on how to mitigate the effect of variation for better fabrication tolerance are discussed by considering three key factors: pre-shift in structural design, bias condition, and fabrication control accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaobang Zeng
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Ding Ding
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Qianyi Gao
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Nan Yang
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Peiyan Zhao
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Wei Jiang
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; (Z.Z.); (D.D.); (Q.G.); (N.Y.); (P.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China
- Correspondence:
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Zhao P, Zeng Z, Yang N, Gao Q, Tang B, Li Z, Yan J, Jiang W. Correlation between driving signal reflection on electrodes and performance variation of silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:35349-35361. [PMID: 31878705 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.035349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We study the correlations between the driving signal reflection on the traveling wave electrodes and the modulated signal characteristics of silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZM). Correlation coefficients are introduced for systematic and quantitative analysis. The signal-to-noise ratio, extinction ratio, and bit error rate show similar correlation behaviors with the mean reflection magnitude over proper frequency ranges, whereas the correlation behaviors of the temporal parameters can be complex. Partial correlation coefficients can be introduced to help remove the influence of other factors. Some relevant fabrication variation scenarios in the underlying structures are discussed, and potential approaches to mitigating the effects of such variations are suggested.
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Yong Z, Sacher WD, Huang Y, Mikkelsen JC, Yang Y, Luo X, Dumais P, Goodwill D, Bahrami H, Lo PGQ, Bernier E, Poon JKS. U-shaped PN junctions for efficient silicon Mach-Zehnder and microring modulators in the O-band. OPTICS EXPRESS 2017; 25:8425-8439. [PMID: 28380954 DOI: 10.1364/oe.25.008425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate U-shaped silicon PN junctions for energy efficient Mach-Zehnder modulators and ring modulators in the O-band. This type of junction has an improved modulation efficiency compared to existing PN junction geometries, has low losses, and supports high-speed operation. The U-shaped junctions were fabricated in an 8" silicon photonics platform, and they were incorporated in travelling-wave Mach-Zehnder modulators and microring modulators. For the high-bandwidth Mach-Zehnder modulator, the DC VπL at -0.5 V bias was 4.6 V·mm. It exhibited a 3dB bandwidth of 13 GHz, and eye patterns at up to 24 Gb/s were observed. A VπL as low as ~2.6 V·mm at a -0.5 V bias was measured in another device. The ring modulator tuning efficiency was 40 pm·V-1 between 0 V and -0.5 V bias. It had a 3-dB bandwidth of 13.5 GHz and open eye patterns at up to 13 Gb/s were measured. This type of PN junctions can be easily fabricated without extra masks and can be incorporated into generic silicon photonics platforms.
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Yong Z, Shopov S, Mikkelsen JC, Mallard R, Mak JCC, Voinigescu SP, Poon JKS. Flip-chip integrated silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator with a 28nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator CMOS driver. OPTICS EXPRESS 2017; 25:6112-6121. [PMID: 28380966 DOI: 10.1364/oe.25.006112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We present a silicon electro-optic transmitter consisting of a 28nm ultra-thin body and buried oxide fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (UTBB FD-SOI) CMOS driver flip-chip integrated onto a Mach-Zehnder modulator. The Mach-Zehnder silicon optical modulator was optimized to have a 3dB bandwidth of around 25 GHz at -1V bias and a 50 Ω impedance. The UTBB FD-SOI CMOS driver provided a large output voltage swing around 5 Vpp to enable a high dynamic extinction ratio and a low device insertion loss. At 44 Gbps, the transmitter achieved a high extinction ratio of 6.4 dB at the modulator quadrature operation point. This result shows open eye diagrams at the highest bit rates and with the largest extinction ratios for silicon electro-optic transmitter using a CMOS driver.
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King R, Seng F, Stan N, Cuzner K, Josephson C, Selfridge R, Schultz S. Slab-coupled optical sensor fabrication using side-polished Panda fibers. APPLIED OPTICS 2016; 55:8848-8854. [PMID: 27828284 DOI: 10.1364/ao.55.008848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A new device structure used for slab-coupled optical sensor (SCOS) technology was developed to fabricate electric field sensors. This new device structure replaces the D-fiber used in traditional SCOS technology with a side-polished Panda fiber. Unlike the D-fiber SCOS, the Panda fiber SCOS is made from commercially available materials and is simpler to fabricate. The Panda SCOS interfaces easier with lab equipment and exhibits ∼3 dB less loss at link points than the D-fiber SCOS. The optical system for the D-fiber is bandwidth limited by a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) used to amplify to the electric signal. The Panda SCOS exhibits less loss than the D-fiber and, as a result, does not require as high a gain setting on the TIA, which results in an overall higher bandwidth range. Results show that the Panda sensor also achieves comparable sensitivity results to the D-fiber SCOS. Although the Panda SCOS is not as sensitive as other side-polished fiber electric field sensors, it can be fabricated much easier because the fabrication process does not require special alignment techniques, and it is made from commercially available materials.
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Ding J, Shao S, Zhang L, Fu X, Yang L. Method to improve the linearity of the silicon Mach-Zehnder optical modulator by doping control. OPTICS EXPRESS 2016; 24:24641-24648. [PMID: 27828189 DOI: 10.1364/oe.24.024641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We optimize the linearity performance of silicon carrier-depletion Mach-Zehnder optical modulator through controlling the doping concentration. The optical field distribution in the waveguide is a Gaussian-like distribution. As the doping concentration increases, the dynamic depletion width of the PN junction under the same modulation signal will decrease, and the integration width of the overlap between the Gaussian-like optical field distribution and the depletion region will become smaller. Therefore the modulated signal has less nonlinear components. Our simulation results proved this analysis. We also fabricated different devices with different doping concentrations. By adopting a ten times doping concentration, the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) for third-order intermodulation distortion (TID) increases from 109.2 dB.Hz2/3 to 113.7 dB.Hz2/3 and the SFDR for second harmonic distortion (SHD) increases from 87.6 dB.Hz1/2 to 97.5 dB.Hz1/2 at a driving frequency of 2 GHz. When the driving frequency is 20 GHz, the SFDRs for TID and SHD distortions are 110.3 dB.Hz2/3 and 96 dB.Hz1/2, respectively.
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Rao S, Pangallo G, Della Corte FG. Integrated Amorphous Silicon p-i-n Temperature Sensor for CMOS Photonics. SENSORS 2016; 16:s16010067. [PMID: 26751446 PMCID: PMC4732100 DOI: 10.3390/s16010067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2015] [Revised: 12/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) shows interesting optoelectronic and technological properties that make it suitable for the fabrication of passive and active micro-photonic devices, compatible moreover with standard microelectronic devices on a microchip. A temperature sensor based on a hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diode integrated in an optical waveguide for silicon photonics applications is presented here. The linear dependence of the voltage drop across the forward-biased diode on temperature, in a range from 30 °C up to 170 °C, has been used for thermal sensing. A high sensitivity of 11.9 mV/°C in the bias current range of 34–40 nA has been measured. The proposed device is particularly suitable for the continuous temperature monitoring of CMOS-compatible photonic integrated circuits, where the behavior of the on-chip active and passive devices are strongly dependent on their operating temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Rao
- Department of Information Engineering Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy (DIIES), "Mediterranea" University, Reggio Calabria 89122, Italy.
| | - Giovanni Pangallo
- Department of Information Engineering Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy (DIIES), "Mediterranea" University, Reggio Calabria 89122, Italy.
| | - Francesco Giuseppe Della Corte
- Department of Information Engineering Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy (DIIES), "Mediterranea" University, Reggio Calabria 89122, Italy.
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Single-chip photonic transceiver based on bulk-silicon, as a chip-level photonic I/O platform for optical interconnects. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11329. [PMID: 26061463 PMCID: PMC4462151 DOI: 10.1038/srep11329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs), defined for transmitting and receiving optical data, are successfully monolithic-integrated into major silicon electronic chips as chip-level optical I/Os (inputs/outputs), it will bring innovative changes in data computing and communications. Here, we propose new photonic integration scheme, a single-chip optical transceiver based on a monolithic-integrated vertical photonic I/O device set including light source on bulk-silicon. This scheme can solve the major issues which impede practical implementation of silicon-based chip-level optical interconnects. We demonstrated a prototype of a single-chip photonic transceiver with monolithic-integrated vertical-illumination type Ge-on-Si photodetectors and VCSELs-on-Si on the same bulk-silicon substrate operating up to 50 Gb/s and 20 Gb/s, respectively. The prototype realized 20 Gb/s low-power chip-level optical interconnects for λ ~ 850 nm between fabricated chips. This approach can have a significant impact on practical electronic-photonic integration in high performance computers (HPC), cpu-memory interface, hybrid memory cube, and LAN, SAN, data center and network applications.
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10
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Patel D, Ghosh S, Chagnon M, Samani A, Veerasubramanian V, Osman M, Plant DV. Design, analysis, and transmission system performance of a 41 GHz silicon photonic modulator. OPTICS EXPRESS 2015; 23:14263-14287. [PMID: 26072793 DOI: 10.1364/oe.23.014263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The design and characterization of a slow-wave series push-pull traveling wave silicon photonic modulator is presented. At 2 V and 4 V reverse bias, the measured -3 dB electro-optic bandwidth of the modulator with an active length of 4 mm are 38 GHz and 41 GHz, respectively. Open eye diagrams are observed up to bitrates of 60 Gbps without any form of signal processing, and up to 70 Gbps with passive signal processing to compensate for the test equipment. With the use of multi-level amplitude modulation formats and digital-signal-processing, the modulator is shown to operate below a hard-decision forward error-correction threshold of 3.8×10-3 at bitrates up to 112 Gbps over 2 km of single mode optical fiber using PAM-4, and over 5 km of optical fiber with PAM-8. Energy consumed solely by the modulator is also estimated for different modulation cases.
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Yang Y, Fang Q, Yu M, Tu X, Rusli R, Lo GQ. High-efficiency Si optical modulator using Cu travelling-wave electrode. OPTICS EXPRESS 2014; 22:29978-29985. [PMID: 25606927 DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.029978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate a high-efficiency and CMOS-compatible silicon Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) optical modulator with Cu traveling-wave electrode and doping compensation. The measured electro-optic bandwidth at Vbias = -5 V is above 30 GHz when it is operated at 1550 nm. At a data rate of 50 Gbps, the dynamic extinction ratio is more than 7 dB. The phase shifter is composed of a 3 mm-long reverse-biased PN junction with modulation efficiency (Vπ·Lπ) of ~18.5 V·mm. Such a Cu-photonics technology provides an attractive potentiality for integration development of silicon photonics and CMOS circuits on SOI wafer in the future.
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12
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Kim G, Park JW, Kim IG, Kim S, Jang KS, Kim SA, Oh JH, Joo J, Kim S. Compact-sized high-modulation-efficiency silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator based on a vertically dipped depletion junction phase shifter for chip-level integration. OPTICS LETTERS 2014; 39:2310-2313. [PMID: 24978980 DOI: 10.1364/ol.39.002310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We present small-sized depletion-type silicon Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator with a vertically dipped PN depletion junction (VDJ) phase shifter based on a CMOS compatible process. The fabricated device with a 100 μm long VDJ phase shifter shows a VπLπ of ∼0.6 V·cm with a 3 dB bandwidth of ∼50 GHz at -2 V bias. The measured extinction ratios are 6 and 5.3 dB for 40 and 50 Gb/s operation under 2.5 Vpp differential drive, respectively. On-chip insertion loss is 3 dB for the maximum optical transmission. This includes the phase-shifter loss of 1.88 dB/100 μm, resulting mostly from the extra optical propagation loss through the polysilicon-plug structure for electrical contact, which can be readily minimized by utilizing finer-scaled lithography nodes. The experimental result indicates that a compact depletion-type MZ modulator based on the VDJ scheme can be a potential candidate for future chip-level integration.
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Tian Y, Zhang L, Ding J, Yang L. Demonstration of electro-optic half-adder using silicon photonic integrated circuits. OPTICS EXPRESS 2014; 22:6958-6965. [PMID: 24664044 DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.006958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We report a silicon photonic integrated circuit which can perform the operation of half-adder based on two cascaded microring resonators (MRRs). PIN diodes embedded around MRRs are employed to achieve the carrier injection modulation. Two electrical pulse sequences representing the two operands of the half-add operation are applied to PIN diodes to modulate two MRRs through the plasma dispersion effect. The final operation results of bitwise Sum and Carry operation are output at two different output ports of the device. Microheaters fabricated on the top of MRRs are employed to compensate two MRRs resonance mismatch caused by the fabrication error through the thermo-optic effect. Addition operation of two bits with the operation speed of 100 Mbps is demonstrated.
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Streshinsky M, Ding R, Liu Y, Novack A, Yang Y, Ma Y, Tu X, Chee EKS, Lim AEJ, Lo PGQ, Baehr-Jones T, Hochberg M. Low power 50 Gb/s silicon traveling wave Mach-Zehnder modulator near 1300 nm. OPTICS EXPRESS 2013; 21:30350-30357. [PMID: 24514613 DOI: 10.1364/oe.21.030350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The wavelength band near 1300 nm is attractive for many telecommunications applications, yet there are few results in silicon that demonstrate high-speed modulation in this band. We present the first silicon modulator to operate at 50 Gbps near 1300 nm. We demonstrate an open eye at this speed using a differential 1.5 V(pp) signal at 0 V reverse bias, achieving an energy efficiency of 450 fJ/bit.
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Li T, Zhang J, Yi H, Tan W, Long Q, Zhou Z, Wang X, Wu H. Low-voltage, high speed, compact silicon modulator for BPSK modulation. OPTICS EXPRESS 2013; 21:23410-23415. [PMID: 24104254 DOI: 10.1364/oe.21.023410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A low voltage, high speed, compact silicon Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) modulator for Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation has been demonstrated. High modulation efficiency, VπLπ equals to 0.45V·cm, was obtained in a 1mm length device owing to a higher doping concentration and low-loss traveling-wave electrode. 25 Gb/s non-return-to-zero(NRZ)-BPSK with 6Vpp RF driving signal was achieved. Driven by a very low 3Vpp RF signal, the 10 Gb/s NRZ-BPSK was also realized benefiting from the high modulation efficiency and the low-voltage driving scheme. The power consumption for the BPSK modulation was as low as 0.118 W. These results prove that the silicon modulator is suitable for advanced communication system with low power consumption.
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Goykhman I, Desiatov B, Ben-Ezra S, Shappir J, Levy U. Optimization of efficiency-loss figure of merit in carrier-depletion silicon Mach-Zehnder optical modulator. OPTICS EXPRESS 2013; 21:19518-19529. [PMID: 24105499 DOI: 10.1364/oe.21.019518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we study the optimization of interleaved Mach-Zehnder silicon carrier depletion electro-optic modulator. Following the simulation results we demonstrate a phase shifter with the lowest figure of merit (modulation efficiency multiplied by the loss per unit length) 6.7 V-dB. This result was achieved by reducing the junction width to 200 nm along the phase-shifter and optimizing the doping levels of the PN junction for operation in nearly fully depleted mode. The demonstrated low FOM is the result of both low V(π)L of ~0.78 Vcm (at reverse bias of 1V), and low free carrier loss (~6.6 dB/cm for zero bias). Our simulation results indicate that additional improvement in performance may be achieved by further reducing the junction width followed by increasing the doping levels.
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Cao T, Fei Y, Zhang L, Cao Y, Chen S. Design of a silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator with a U-type PN junction. APPLIED OPTICS 2013; 52:5941-5948. [PMID: 24084995 DOI: 10.1364/ao.52.005941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2012] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We have developed a silicon depletion-mode modulator featuring a novel U-type PN junction that enables a substantial improvement in electro-optical modulation efficiency. Through electrical, optical, and manufacturing process simulations, an ultralow VπL of 0.63 V·cm is exhibited with 3 V reverse bias. The high modulation efficiency enables a high extinction ratio (ER) of >17 dB with only a 1 mm phase shifter when the excess loss at the "on" state is 2 dB. The ER can maintain >12 dB at ∼28 GHz operation with a 3 V peak-to-peak voltage due to the small voltage attenuation of the short phase shifter.
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Zhang Z, Huang B, Zhang Z, Cheng C, Chen H. Bidirectional grating coupler based optical modulator for low-loss integration and low-cost fiber packaging. OPTICS EXPRESS 2013; 21:14202-14214. [PMID: 23787610 DOI: 10.1364/oe.21.014202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We proposed and demonstrated a novel optical modulator based on a bidirectional grating coupler designed for perfectly vertical fiber coupling. The grating functions as the fiber coupler and 3-dB splitter. To observe the interference, an arm difference of 30μm is introduced. As a result of the high coupling efficiency and near perfect split ratio of the grating coupler, this device exhibits a low on-chip insertion loss of 5.4dB (coupling loss included) and high on-off extinction ratio more than 20dB. The modulation efficiency is estimated to be within 3-3.84V•cm. In order to investigate the fiber misalignment tolerance of this modulator, misalignment influence of the static characteristics is analyzed. 10Gb/s Data transmission experiments of this device are performed with different fiber launch positions. The energy efficiency is estimated to be 8.1pJ/bit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zanyun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
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Yi H, Long Q, Tan W, Li L, Wang X, Zhou Z. Demonstration of low power penalty of silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator in long-haul transmission. OPTICS EXPRESS 2012; 20:27562-27568. [PMID: 23262706 DOI: 10.1364/oe.20.027562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate error-free 80km transmission by a silicon carrier-depletion Mach-Zehnder modulator at 10Gbps and the power penalty is as low as 1.15dB. The devices were evaluated through the bit-error-rate characterizations under the system-level analysis. The silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator was also analyzed comparatively with a lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator in back-to-back transmission and long-haul transmission, respectively, and verified the negative chirp parameter of the silicon modulator through the experiment. The result of low power penalty indicates a practical application for the silicon modulator in the middle- or long-distance transmission systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxiang Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Baehr-Jones T, Ding R, Liu Y, Ayazi A, Pinguet T, Harris NC, Streshinsky M, Lee P, Zhang Y, Lim AEJ, Liow TY, Teo SHG, Lo GQ, Hochberg M. Ultralow drive voltage silicon traveling-wave modulator. OPTICS EXPRESS 2012; 20:12014-12020. [PMID: 22714187 DOI: 10.1364/oe.20.012014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
There has been great interest in the silicon platform as a material system for integrated photonics. A key challenge is the development of a low-power, low drive voltage, broadband modulator. Drive voltages at or below 1 Vpp are desirable for compatibility with CMOS processes. Here we demonstrate a CMOS-compatible broadband traveling-wave modulator based on a reverse-biased pn junction. We demonstrate operation with a drive voltage of 0.63 Vpp at 20 Gb/s, a significant improvement in the state of the art, with an RF energy consumption of only 200 fJ/bit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Baehr-Jones
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Campus Box 352500, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
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Ding J, Chen H, Yang L, Zhang L, Ji R, Tian Y, Zhu W, Lu Y, Zhou P, Min R, Yu M. Ultra-low-power carrier-depletion Mach-Zehnder silicon optical modulator. OPTICS EXPRESS 2012; 20:7081-7087. [PMID: 22453389 DOI: 10.1364/oe.20.007081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate a 26 Gbit/s Mach-Zehnder silicon optical modulator. The doping concentration and profile are optimized, and a modulation efficiency with the figure of merit (VπL) of 1.28 V·cm is achieved. We design an 80-nm-wide intrinsic silicon gap between the p-type and n-type doped regions to reduce the capacitance of the diode and prevent the diode from working in a slow diffusion mode. Therefore, the modulator can be driven with a small differential voltage of 0.5 V with no bias. Without the elimination of the dissipated power of the series resistors and the reflected power of the electrical signal, the maximum power consumption is 3.8 mW.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Ding
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics & Optoelectronic System Laboratory, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
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