High-speed traveling-wave electro-absorption modulators

Abstract

Electroabsorption modulators (EAM) based on quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) in multiplequantum wells (MQW) have been demonstrated to provide high-speed, low drive voltage, and high extinction ratio. They are compact in size and can be monolithically integrated with continuous-wave (CW) lasers. In order to achieve both high speed and low drive-voltage operation, travelling-wave (TW) electrode structures can be used for EAMs. The inherently low impedance of high-speed EAMs may be transformed to values close to the standard 50Ohm impedance using periodic microwave structures with a combination of passive transmission lines with high characteristic impedance and active modulator sections with low impedance. Modulation bandwidths of 100GHz (-3dBe) have been accomplished with electrical reflections lower than -10dB in a 50Ohm system. Transmission at 80Gbit/s with non-return-to-zero (NRZ) code has been demonstrated for InP-based TWEAMs using electronic time-domain multiplexing (ETDM), indicating the possibility of reaching speeds of 100Gbit/s and beyond.