Slope efficiency and spurious-free dynamic range of silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator upon carrier depletion and injection effects

Opt Express. 2013 Jul 15;21(14):16570-7. doi: 10.1364/OE.21.016570.

Abstract

We investigate the performances of a silicon PN-junction Mach-Zehnder modulator for analog application. The slope efficiency and spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of such a modulator upon carrier depletion and carrier injection effects are characterized and compared. Input RF frequency-dependence measurements show that the depletion-type modulator is usually with ~20 dB ∙ Hz(2/3) higher SFDR comparing to the injection-type modulator, yet with an order-of-magnitude lower slope efficiency. For the depletion-type and injection-type modulators, the measured maximum SFDRs are respectively ~95 dB ∙ Hz(2/3) and 75 dB∙Hz(2/3), with maximum slope efficiency of 0.3 V(-1) and 8 V(-1<). We numerically model the SFDR by using the experimentally extracted effective refractive index change, which shows good agreement with the measurements.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Interferometry / instrumentation*
  • Refractometry / instrumentation*
  • Semiconductors*
  • Telecommunications / instrumentation*