Title :
Optimization and Demonstration of a Large-bandwidth Carrier-depletion Silicon Optical Modulator
Author :
Jing Wang ; Chao Qiu ; Hao Li ; Wei Ling ; Le Li ; Pang, Ai-Chun ; Zhen Sheng ; Aimin Wu ; Xi Wang ; Shichang Zou ; Fuwan Gan
Author_Institution :
State Key Lab. of Functional Mater. for Inf., Shanghai Inst. of Microsyst. & Inf. Technol., Shanghai, China
Abstract :
We present the design, fabrication, and measurement of a high-speed carrier-depletion silicon optical modulator based on Mach-Zehnder Interferometer structure. Based on an equivalent circuit model, the traveling-wave electrode size and doping concentration of the PN junction are optimized to achieve a large modulation bandwidth. The modulation efficiency and optical loss at different positions of the PN junction are also simulated. The device is fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) with 0.13 μm CMOS technology. An insertion loss of 3.9 dB (resp. 6.2 dB) and a VπLπ of 1.62-2.05 V·cm (resp. 1.47-1.97 V·cm) are experimentally realized for 1 mm (resp. 2 mm) long phase shifter. By small signal measurement, the modulator exhibits a 3 dB bandwidth of 30 GHz and 19 GHz for 1 mm and 2 mm long phase shifter, respectively, which agrees well with the simulation results. The optical eye diagram with data rate up to 44 Gb/s is also demonstrated, showing potential in the application of high-speed optical interconnects.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; Mach-Zehnder interferometers; doping profiles; elemental semiconductors; equivalent circuits; integrated optoelectronics; optical design techniques; optical fabrication; optical losses; optical modulation; optical phase shifters; p-n junctions; silicon; silicon-on-insulator; travelling wave tubes; CMOS technology; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; PN junction; SOI; Si; bandwidth 19 GHz; bandwidth 30 GHz; bit rate 44 Gbit/s; data rate; doping concentration; equivalent circuit model; high-speed carrier-depletion silicon optical modulator; high-speed optical interconnects; insertion loss; large-bandwidth carrier-depletion silicon optical modulator; modulation bandwidth; optical design; optical eye diagram; optical fabrication; optical loss; optimization; phase shifter; signal measurement; silicon-on-insulator; size 0.13 mum; size 1 mm; size 2 mm; traveling-wave electrode size; Bandwidth; Electrodes; Junctions; Optical modulation; Optical waveguides; Phase shifters; High speed; optical interconnects; optical modulation; silicon modulators;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2013.2287671
