Analysis and characterization of traveling-wave electrode in electroabsorption modulator for radio-on-fiber application

Comparing with a lumped electroabsorption modulator (EAM), we show the merits of a long EAM with traveling-wave electrode with high radio-frequency (RF) gain that could be used in high-frequency analog application. By terminating the RF output port with the characteristic impedance of 30 /spl Omega/, the device exhibited a large enhancement of 6 dB above 10 GHz in the electrical-to-optical response and a wide fractional bandwidth as estimated from simulation. In addition, an input impedance matching circuit of stub embedded on the device chip was found to be very effective for improving RF characteristics in the narrow band of frequency.     

Sampled-grating DBR laser-based analog optical transmitters

Sampled-grating distributed Bragg grating (SGDBR) laser-based widely tunable optical transmitters are investigated for application in high-performance analog links. More than 45 nm tuning range, 40 dB sidemode suppression ratio, and peak relative intensity noise below -153 dB/Hz is measured. SGDBR lasers integrated with semiconductor optical amplifiers and electroabsorption modulators (EAMs) are characterized with spurious free dynamic range of 125-127 dB/spl middot/Hz/sup 4/5/ over the wavelength tuning range. It is also shown how the modulation response of the EAM is affected by the optical power to limit the performance of the analog transmitter.     

60-GHz System-on-Packaging Transmitter for Radio-Over-Fiber Applications

Using ultra-high-speed electroabsorption modulator (EAM) devices for RF/optic conversion, we fabricated system-on-packaging (SOP) transmitter (Tx) modules and characterized their performance in 60-GHz RF/radio-over-fiber (ROF) applications. Both an EAM and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) were co-packaged with internal bias circuits into a butterfly-type metal housing. At the EAM temperature, $T {sim} {hbox{25}}~^{circ}$ C and the EAM reverse bias, $V_{R} {sim} $1.6 V was the largest RF gain obtained that was very susceptible to the change of $T$ . The impedance matching in the 60-GHz band was accomplished with both a microstrip-line bandpass filter and a 500- $Omega$ shunt resistor, which defined the 2-GHz passband of the SOP transmitter. In 60-GHz two-tone experiments, we observed that the spurious free dynamic range of an SOP module with two LNAs was 78 dB $cdot$ Hz $^{2/3}$ while that of the narrowband EAM module showed 82 dB $cdot$ Hz$^{2/3}$. In contrast, the noise figure exhibited a large reduction of up to 30 dB for the SOP module compared with the narrowband EAM module. Using the SOP Tx module, we achieved successful transmission of commercial high-definition digital CATV signals in 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) format through the 60-GHz RF/ROF link. The total throughput of the link was estimated to be 6.5 Gb/s.      

Peripheral-coupled-waveguide MQW electroabsorption modulator for near transparency and high spurious free dynamic range RF fiber-optic link

Peripheral coupled waveguide (PCW) design has been deployed in InGaAsP multiple quantum-well (MQW) electroabsorption modulator (EAM) at 1.55-/spl mu/m wavelength. PCW enhances the optical saturation power and reduces the optical insertion loss and the equivalent V/sub /spl pi// simultaneously. A radio-frequency link using a 1.3-mm-long lumped-element PCW EAM has achieved experimentally a link gain of -3 dB, at 500 MHz and at input optical power of 80 mW. The corresponding two-tone multioctave spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) at the same bias is measured at 118 dB/spl middot/Hz/sup 2/3/. The single-octave SFDR at the third-order null bias is 132 dB/spl middot/Hz/sup 4/5/.     

High-efficiency 1.3 /spl mu/m InAsP-GaInP MQW electroabsorption waveguide modulators for microwave fiber-optic links

High-efficiency electroabsorption waveguide modulators have been designed and fabricated using strain-compensated InAsP-GaInP multiple quantum wells at 1.32-/spl mu/m wavelength. A typical 200-/spl mu/m-long modulator exhibits a fiber-to-fiber optical insertion loss of 9 dB and an optical saturation intensity larger than 10 mW. The 3-dB electrical bandwidth is in excess of 20 GHz with a 50-/spl Omega/ load termination. When used in an analog microwave fiber-optic link without amplification, a RF link efficiency as high as -38 dB is achieved at 10 mW input optical carrier power. These analog link characteristics are the first reported using MQW electroabsorption waveguide modulators at 1.32 /spl mu/m.     

Analog characterization of low-voltage MQW traveling-wave electroabsorption modulators

In this paper, high-speed traveling-wave electroabsorption modulators (TW-EAMs) with strain-compensated InGaAsP multiple quantum wells as the absorption region for analog optical links have been developed. A record-high slope efficiency of 4/V, which is equivalent to a Mach-Zehnder modulator with a V/sub /spl pi// of 0.37 V and a high extinction ratio of > 30 dB/V have been measured. A detailed study of the nonlinearity and the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is presented. By optimizing the bias voltage and the input optical power, the SFDR can be improved by 10-30 dB. After minimizing the third-order distortion, an SFDR as high as 128 dB-Hz/sup 4/5/ is achieved at 10 GHz. A simple link measurement was made using this EAM and an erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a 50-/spl Omega/ terminated photodetector. At 10 GHz, a link gain of 1 dB is achieved at a detected photocurrent of 7.6 mA with higher gains at lower frequencies. The dependence of link gains on bias voltage, input optical, and radio frequency powers are investigated in detail.     

All-optical wavelength conversion by EAM with shifted bandpass filter for high bit-rate networks

We report an original optical wavelength converter for transparent network and high-speed transmission. Based on an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) in cross-absorption modulation configuration, a red-shifted center wavelength filtering of the converted signal decreases the impact of the limited EAM response time. This original and simple device demonstrates wavelength conversion at 40 Gb/s, leading to a reduction of 4.7 dB on the bit-error rate (BER) penalty compared to the case of a centered filter. An absolute 1.8-dB BER power penalty, low switching energy (500 fJ/data pulse) and small applied DC bias are reported.     

System-on-Packaging with Electroabsorption Modulator for a 60-GHz Band Radio-Over-Fiber Link

A system-on-packaging (SoP) with an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) for a 60 GHz band radio-over-fiber (RoF) link is described. The system consists of an EAM device, a microstrip filter, and a low noise amplifier (LNA). The microstrip filter was used to achieve impedance matching between the EAM device and the LNA and to reject the local oscillator (LO) frequency of the heterodyne system. The frequency response and the effect of the EAM bias voltage were measured for a simple RF/optical link. A 60 GHz band RoF link with 2.5 GHz intermediate frequency (IF) was prepared to measure the transmission characteristics of the 16 QAM data.     

High-Speed (60 GHz) and Low-Voltage-Driving Electroabsorption Modulator Using Two-Consecutive-Steps Selective-Undercut-Wet-Etching Waveguide

Based on a novel structure of waveguide, a broadband electroabsorption modulator (EAM) with low driving voltage and high extinction ratio has been demonstrated in this letter. The waveguide of InGaAsP-InP p-i-n layer structure is fabricated by two consecutive steps of selective undercut-wet-etching: 1)HCl : H₃PO₄ on p-InP (p- layer), and 2)H₃PO₄ : H₂O₂ : H₂O on InGaAsP (active region), showing a wide ridge with a narrow undercut active region. Low capacitance and low cladding impedance can thus be simultaneously attained in such waveguides, leading to low microwave loss and high-speed electrooptical (EO) response. A ridge as wide as 8 mum with a 3-mum- wide active region and a 450-nm gap height in the undercut portion has been fabricated. A 350- mum -long waveguide of EAM is designed, revealing a high extinction ratio of > 30 dB (D.C.) and a modulation efficiency of > 20 dB/V (D.C.) with polarization-insensitive operation at a wavelength of 1550 nm. As high as 60 GHz of a 3-dB bandwidth is measured in the high-speed EO conversion. Calculations by an equivalent circuit model are quite fitted with the measurement, revealing that broadband performance is mainly attributed to the low microwave propagation loss in such waveguides.     

A Four‐Channel Laser Array with Four 10 Gbps Monolithic EAMs Each Integrated with a DBR Laser

A distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser and a high speed electroabsorption modulator (EAM) are integrated on the basis of the selective area growth technique. The typical threshold current is 4 to 6 mA, and the side mode suppression ratio is over 40 dB with single mode operation at 1550 nm. The DBR laser exhibits 2.5 to 3.3 mW fiber output power at a laser gain current of 100 mA, and a modulator bias voltage of 0 V. The 3 dB bandwidth is 13 GHz. A 10 Gbps non‐return to zero operation with 12 dB extinction ratio is obtained. A four‐channel laser array with 100 GHz wavelength spacing was fabricated and its operation at the designed wavelength was confirmed.     

Electroabsorption modulator-integrated distributed Bragg reflector laser diode for C-band WDM-based networks

We report an electroabsorption modulator (EAM)-integrated distributed Bragg reflector laser diode (DBR-LD) capable of supporting a high data rate and a wide wavelength tuning. The DBR-LD contains two tuning elements, plasma and heater tunings, both of which are implemented in the DBR section, which have blue-shift and red-shift in the Bragg wavelength through a current injection, respectively. The light created from the DBR-LD is intensity-modulated through the EAM voltage, which is integrated monolithically with the DBR-LD using a butt–joint coupling method. The fabricated chip shows a threshold current of approximately 8 mA, tuning range of greater than 30 nm, and static extinction ratio of higher than 20 dB while maintaining a side mode suppression ratio of greater than 40 dB under a window of 1550 nm. To evaluate its modulation properties, the chip was bonded onto a mount including a radiofrequency line and a load resistor showing clear eye openings at data rates of 25 Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero and 50 Gb/s pulse amplitude modulation 4-level, respectively.     

Wide Temperature Range Operation of a 1.55-$mu$m 40-Gb/s Electroabsorption Modulator Integrated DFB Laser for Very Short-Reach Applications

We present the uncooled operation of a 1.55- mum 40-Gb/s InGaAlAs electroabsorption modulator (EAM) integrated distributed-feedback (DFB) laser within a temperature range of 95degC (-15degC to 80degC ). To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest temperature range reported so far for such a 40-Gb/s EAM integrated DFB laser. We designed the EAM to operate at high speed by reducing the electrical parasitics, and we achieved a 3-dB frequency bandwidth of over 39 GHz for an EAM length of less than 150 mum. We demonstrated a 2-km single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission at 40-Gb/s over a wide temperature range of -15degC to 80degC by adjusting only the bias voltage to the EAM while keeping the modulation voltage swing constant at 2.0 V when the temperature changed. We achieved a dynamic extinction ratio of over 8.2 dB and a 2-km SMF transmission with a power penalty of less than 2 dB over a wide temperature range.     

Full-Duplex 1.0 Gbit/s Data Transmission Over 60 GHz Radio-on-Fiber Access System Based on the Loop-Back Optical Heterodyne Technique

Full-duplex transmission over a 60 GHz radio-on-fiber access system based on the optical heterodyne technique is verified in this paper. With this technique, an optical carrier generator on the transmitting side consolidates the functions of wavelength and polarization control for optical heterodyne detection in uplinks and optical millimeter-wave generation in downlinks, on behalf of each optical transmitter/receiver. Therefore, the whole system configuration can be significantly simplified. A full-duplex 1.0 Gbit/s transmission experiment over 10 km of single-mode fiber, which represents an access network transmission, is demonstrated using the simultaneous modulation/photodetection operation of an electroabsorption modulator (EAM). Bit error rates of less than 10$^{-9}$ were obtained in both the uplink and downlink without noticeable mutual interference, even though the laser source and the EAM is shared by both links, and no significant dispersion-induced degradation was observed. Moreover, the experimental results showed that an optical link budget of 9.2 dB can be achieved with the experimental configuration.      

Improving the Performance of Sampled-Grating DBR Laser-Based Analog Optical Transmitters

In this paper, the available analog link performance of integrated transmitters containing a sampled-grating distributed Bragg reflector laser, a semiconductor optical amplifier, and a modulator is evaluated. It is found that to provide a link gain and a low-noise figure, an RF preamplifier is required, and for this reason, spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) including a preamplifier has been evaluated. An SFDR of 110-dBHz^2/3, a noise figure of 5.4 dB, and link gain of 6.9 dB at 5 GHz is obtained. It is further investigated how link SFDR can be improved by linearization techniques. Two novel approaches are proposed and demonstrated: first, predistortion by extraction of nonlinear components from an integrated second modulator exposed to the same wavelength, optical power and temperature for matched nonlinear terms; second, a novel linearized modulator configuration balancing electroabsorption and Mach-Zehnder modulation that can reach a null for both second- and third-order intermodulation products at a single bias point.     

Low insertion loss and low dispersion penalty InGaAsP quantum-well high-speed electroabsorption modulator for 40-Gb/s very-short-reach, long-reach, and long-haul applications

We present a metal-organic-chemical-vapor-deposition-grown low-optical-insertion-loss InGaAsP/InP multiple-quantum-well electroabsorption modulator (EAM), suitable for both nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) and return-to-zero (RZ) applications. The EAM exhibits a dynamic (RF) extinction ratio of 11.5 dB at 1550 nm for 3 Vp-p drive under 40-Gb/s modulation. The optical insertion loss of the modulator in the on-state is -5.2 dB at 1550 nm. In addition, the EAM also exhibits a 3-dB small-signal response (S21) of greater than 38 GHz, allowing it to be used in both 40-Gb/s NRZ and 10-Gb/s RZ applications. The dispersion penalty at 40 Gb/s is measured to be 1.2 dB over /spl plusmn/40 ps/nm of chromatic dispersion. Finally, we demonstrate 40-Gb/s transmission performance over 85 km and 700 km.     

Optical coupling analysis of dual-waveguide structure for monolithic integration of photonic devices

We proposed the dual-waveguide structure (DWS) with spot size converters and demonstrated the monolithic integration of both photodetector (PD) and electroabsorption modulator (EAM) based on the DWS. The coupling loss between the device facet and a lensed fiber was as small as 2.13 dB. The responsivity of PD and the extinction ratio of EAM were 0.58 A/W and 20 dB at -4 V/sub dc/, respectively. From the optical coupling analysis, it was proved that the dual-waveguide scheme provided one of the best solutions for the monolithic integration of optoelectronic devices.     

80 Gbit/s wavelength conversion using MQW electroabsorption modulator in delayed-interferometric configuration

Absorption recovery time and cross-phase modulation characteristics of an MQW electroabsorption modulator (EAM) were experimentally analysed. 80 Gbit/s error-free operation of a wavelength converter using the MQW EAM in a delayed-interferometer configuration was demonstrated for the first time.     

40 Gbit/s electroabsorption modulators with impedance-controlled electrodes

A novel travelling-wave electroabsorption optical modulator, electrically matched for 50 /spl Omega/ loads of driving circuit drivers, was developed. The scattering parameter of electric reflection (S/sub 11/) from this modulator is less than -20 dB at 20 GHz. It can thus enable a 40 Gbit/s, 2 km SMF transmission with a 0.3 dB penalty at a 1.3 /spl mu/m wavelength.     

A 60-GHz-Band Analog Optical System-on-Package Transmitter for Fiber-Radio Communications

We developed an analog optical system-on-package (SoP) transmitter for a 60-GHz-band radio-over-fiber (RoF) link. The SoP transmitter consisted of an electroabsorption modulator, radio frequency amplifiers, and a bandpass filter. The 60-GHz RoF wireless link was prepared to measure the performance of the SoP transmitter. The transmission characteristics of 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM) data of the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, including the SoP transmitter, were investigated by measuring the error vector magnitude (EVM) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with a baseband frequency. The EVM of the 60-GHz RoF wireless link was between 2.25% and 2.80%, and the SNR was between 27.36 and 29.31 dB from 140 and 770 MHz, at input baseband power of -9 dBm. The noise figure had the minimum of 8.44 dB at 500 MHz. We successfully transmitted digital community antenna television (CATV) system signals through the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, including the SoP transmitter. Digital CATV signals of 86 channels could be transmitted through the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, and the total throughput was found to be 2.61 Gb/s.     

ETDM Transmitter Module for 100-Gb/s Ethernet

Performance of a packaged distributed-feedback travelling-wave electroabsorption modulator module for data transmission at 100 Gb/s is presented for the first time. Clearly open eye diagrams at 80 Gb/s with an extinction ratio (ER) of 4.9 dB and 100 Gb/s with ER 4.2 dB (limited by measurement setup) are demonstrated together with data transmission over 100-m-long standard single-mode fiber and over dispersion-compensated 10-km fiber link.