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High-speed silicon modulators for the 2 μm wavelength band

High-speed silicon modulators for the 2 μm wavelength band
High-speed silicon modulators for the 2 μm wavelength band

The 2 μm wavelength band has become a promising candidate to be the next communication window. We demonstrate high-speed modulators based on a 220 nm silicon-on-insulator platform working at a wavelength of 1950 nm, using the free carrier plasma dispersion effect in silicon. A Mach–Zehnder interferometer modulator and a microring modulator have been characterized. At 1950 nm, the carrier-depletion modulator operates at a data rate of 20 Gbit/s with an extinction ratio of 5.8 dB and insertion loss of 13 dB. The modulation efficiency (Vπ • Lπ) is 2.68 V·cm at 4 V reverse bias. The device operation is broadband, and we also characterize its performance at 1550 nm. At 1550 nm, an open eye is obtained at 30 Gbit/s. The difference in bandwidth is caused by the bandwidth limit of the 2 μm measurement setup. We also show a ring modulator paired with a low power integrated driver working in hybrid carrier depletion and injection mode at a data rate of 3 Gbit/s with power consumption of 2.38 pJ/bit in the 2 μm wavelength range. This work is a proof of principle demonstration and paves a route toward a full silicon-based transceiver in the 2 μm window.

2334-2536
1055-1062
Cao, Wei
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Hagan, David
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Thomson, David J.
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Nedeljković, Miloš
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Littlejohns, Callum G.
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Knights, Andy
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Alam, Shaif Ul
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Wang, Junjia
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Gardes, Frederic
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Zhang, Weiwei
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Liu, Shenghao
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Li, Ke
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Rouifed, Mohamed Said
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Xin, Guo
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Wang, Wanjun
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Wang, Hong
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Reed, Graham T.
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Mashanovich, Goran Z.
c806e262-af80-4836-b96f-319425060051
Cao, Wei
5202fa2b-a471-45d4-84e9-9104dffdbbfc
Hagan, David
46cd7f5c-243f-451e-9a82-7e4b1c01acb9
Thomson, David J.
17c1626c-2422-42c6-98e0-586ae220bcda
Nedeljković, Miloš
b64e21c2-1b95-479d-a35c-3456dff8c796
Littlejohns, Callum G.
d2837f04-0a83-4bf9-acb2-618aa42a0cad
Knights, Andy
74a2ce08-8428-4835-86c5-5673079b0dd1
Alam, Shaif Ul
2b6bdbe5-ddcc-4a88-9057-299360b93435
Wang, Junjia
ae1c06a5-c433-45b4-85ba-2983c5ac06bb
Gardes, Frederic
7a49fc6d-dade-4099-b016-c60737cb5bb2
Zhang, Weiwei
1a783f97-c5ac-49e9-a5a0-49b8b2efab36
Liu, Shenghao
fa6f1670-636b-4ade-901d-1a538d815a65
Li, Ke
dd788ca7-0a39-4364-b4b8-65f0bb93340f
Rouifed, Mohamed Said
c498264d-50f4-4003-9d18-b40f318160e2
Xin, Guo
03ad6d13-2779-4e2c-a574-a045e081015d
Wang, Wanjun
79108a43-c2a9-4a18-9aeb-8a9b45941dd0
Wang, Hong
dfd0ec4f-682a-4596-a0d1-171313cc5733
Reed, Graham T.
ca08dd60-c072-4d7d-b254-75714d570139
Mashanovich, Goran Z.
c806e262-af80-4836-b96f-319425060051

Cao, Wei, Hagan, David, Thomson, David J., Nedeljković, Miloš, Littlejohns, Callum G., Knights, Andy, Alam, Shaif Ul, Wang, Junjia, Gardes, Frederic, Zhang, Weiwei, Liu, Shenghao, Li, Ke, Rouifed, Mohamed Said, Xin, Guo, Wang, Wanjun, Wang, Hong, Reed, Graham T. and Mashanovich, Goran Z. (2018) High-speed silicon modulators for the 2 μm wavelength band. Optica, 5 (9), 1055-1062. (doi:10.1364/OPTICA.5.001055).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The 2 μm wavelength band has become a promising candidate to be the next communication window. We demonstrate high-speed modulators based on a 220 nm silicon-on-insulator platform working at a wavelength of 1950 nm, using the free carrier plasma dispersion effect in silicon. A Mach–Zehnder interferometer modulator and a microring modulator have been characterized. At 1950 nm, the carrier-depletion modulator operates at a data rate of 20 Gbit/s with an extinction ratio of 5.8 dB and insertion loss of 13 dB. The modulation efficiency (Vπ • Lπ) is 2.68 V·cm at 4 V reverse bias. The device operation is broadband, and we also characterize its performance at 1550 nm. At 1550 nm, an open eye is obtained at 30 Gbit/s. The difference in bandwidth is caused by the bandwidth limit of the 2 μm measurement setup. We also show a ring modulator paired with a low power integrated driver working in hybrid carrier depletion and injection mode at a data rate of 3 Gbit/s with power consumption of 2.38 pJ/bit in the 2 μm wavelength range. This work is a proof of principle demonstration and paves a route toward a full silicon-based transceiver in the 2 μm window.

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Accepted/In Press date: 2 July 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 August 2018
Published date: 20 September 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 425283
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/425283
ISSN: 2334-2536
PURE UUID: 02152bcb-601f-4a7c-abc2-15205f2ff3a7
ORCID for Wei Cao: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-7060
ORCID for Miloš Nedeljković: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9170-7911
ORCID for Frederic Gardes: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1400-3272

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Date deposited: 12 Oct 2018 16:30
Last modified: 28 Mar 2024 02:46

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Contributors

Author: Wei Cao ORCID iD
Author: David Hagan
Author: Andy Knights
Author: Shaif Ul Alam
Author: Junjia Wang
Author: Frederic Gardes ORCID iD
Author: Weiwei Zhang
Author: Shenghao Liu
Author: Ke Li
Author: Mohamed Said Rouifed
Author: Guo Xin
Author: Wanjun Wang
Author: Hong Wang
Author: Graham T. Reed

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