22 January 2007 / Vol. 15, No. 2 | Qianfan Xu, Sasikanth Manipatruni, Brad Schmidt, Jagat Shakya, and Michal Lipson
The paper presents a scheme for achieving high-speed operation in carrier-injection-based silicon electro-optical modulators, optimized for small size and high modulation depth. The authors theoretically analyze the device performance and experimentally demonstrate 12.5-Gbit/s modulation with an extinction ratio greater than 9 dB using a silicon micro-ring modulator. The modulator consists of a ring resonator with a p-i-n junction embedded in it, side-coupled to a waveguide. The device's transmission spectrum is measured, showing a significant increase in transmission at resonant wavelengths when biased. The modulation speed is enhanced by using a pre-emphasized driving signal, which reduces the optical rise time while maintaining a short charge storage time. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of this approach, achieving high-speed operation at 12.5 Gbit/s with a high extinction ratio. The work highlights the potential for carrier-injection devices to achieve small size, high modulation depth, and high speed simultaneously.The paper presents a scheme for achieving high-speed operation in carrier-injection-based silicon electro-optical modulators, optimized for small size and high modulation depth. The authors theoretically analyze the device performance and experimentally demonstrate 12.5-Gbit/s modulation with an extinction ratio greater than 9 dB using a silicon micro-ring modulator. The modulator consists of a ring resonator with a p-i-n junction embedded in it, side-coupled to a waveguide. The device's transmission spectrum is measured, showing a significant increase in transmission at resonant wavelengths when biased. The modulation speed is enhanced by using a pre-emphasized driving signal, which reduces the optical rise time while maintaining a short charge storage time. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of this approach, achieving high-speed operation at 12.5 Gbit/s with a high extinction ratio. The work highlights the potential for carrier-injection devices to achieve small size, high modulation depth, and high speed simultaneously.