Title :
Performance of 10 Gb/s lightwave systems based on lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulators with asymmetric Y-branch waveguides
Author :
Cartledge, John C.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Queen´´s Univ., Kingston, Ont., Canada
Abstract :
The dependence of the transmission performance of 10 Gb/s systems on the splitting ratio of the Y-branch waveguides in a lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator is assessed theoretically for single arm and dual arm modulation formats. When the splitting ratio is optimized, dual arm modulation using a push-pull configuration offers better dispersion limited performance than a conventional negative chirp modulator with symmetric Y-branch waveguides and single arm modulation (/spl alpha/ parameter of -1). The push-pull configuration also has the advantage of reducing the requirement on the amplitude of the modulating signals.<>
Keywords :
electro-optical modulation; lithium compounds; optical communication equipment; optical dispersion; optical fibre communication; optical waveguides; 10 Gbit/s; LiNbO/sub 3/; asymmetric Y-branch waveguides; dispersion limited performance; dual arm modulation formats; lightwave systems; lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulators; modulating signal amplitude reduction; push-pull configuration; single arm modulation formats; splitting ratio; transmission performance; Amplitude modulation; Chirp modulation; Lithium niobate; Optical modulation; Optical pulse shaping; Optical receivers; Optical waveguides; Phase modulation; Semiconductor waveguides; Voltage;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
