Sub-100 μm Photonic Crystal Si Optical Modulators: Spectral, Athermal, and High-Speed Performance
- 20 June 2013
- journal article
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
- Vol. 19 (6), 127-137
- https://doi.org/10.1109/jstqe.2013.2265193
Abstract
We report on our recent progress on Si Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) incorporating sub-100 μm slow-light photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) phase-shifters. In the standard MZM with a PCW in each of the arms, we study the power-dependent bit-error-rate (BER) characteristics at 10 Gb/s, and measure BER = 1 × 10-9 and 1 × 10-8 even with phase-shifter lengths of 90 and 50 μm, respectively. Furthermore, by exploiting the low-dispersion slow-light in the 90 μm device, we measure a spectral operating bandwidth of 16.9 nm and temperature tolerance between 19-124°C, where the eye pattern amplitude is consistent to within ±25%. In the device with a 90 μm PCW in only one of the MZM arms, designed for large-ng operation, we achieve BER = 1 × 10-9 at 10 Gb/s and also observed barely but open eye patterns at 25 and 40 Gb/s.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Compact and fast photonic crystal silicon optical modulatorsOptics Express, 2012
- High-contrast 40 Gb/s operation of a 500 μm long silicon carrier-depletion slow wave modulatorOptics Letters, 2012
- 50-Gb/s Silicon Optical ModulatorIEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2011
- Nonlinear enhancement in photonic crystal slow light waveguides fabricated using CMOS-compatible processOptics Express, 2011
- Ultra-low power fiber-coupled gallium arsenide photonic crystal cavity electro-optic modulatorOptics Express, 2011
- Electro-optic polymer infiltrated silicon photonic crystal slot waveguide modulator with 23 dB slow light enhancementApplied Physics Letters, 2010
- Low power and fast electro-optic silicon modulator with lateral p-i-n embedded photonic crystal nanocavityOptics Express, 2009
- Slow light with low dispersion and nonlinear enhancement in a lattice-shifted photonic crystal waveguideOptics Letters, 2009
- Systematic design of flat band slow light in photonic crystal waveguidesOptics Express, 2008
- Zero dispersion at small group velocities in photonic crystal waveguidesApplied Physics Letters, 2004