Frequency comb generation in a silicon ring resonator modulator.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Optical frequency combs are crucial for precise measurements and communications.
• Silicon photonics offers a scalable platform for integrated optical devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the generation of a uniform power optical frequency comb using a silicon ring resonator modulator.
• To characterize the performance and optimize the operation of the modulator for comb generation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a silicon ring resonator modulator with dual-frequency electrical input (10 and 20 GHz).
• Measured the complex transfer function of the ring resonator.
• Analyzed comb shape variations with different modulator bias voltages.
• Performed time-domain measurements to assess coherence and pulse characteristics.

Main Results:

• Generated an optical comb with five frequency tones spaced at 10 GHz.
• Achieved high power uniformity with less than 0.7 dB variation.
• Identified optimal performance at a small forward-bias voltage.
• Confirmed high coherence of the comb signal, producing 20.3 ps pulses.

Conclusions:

• Silicon ring resonator modulators are effective for generating stable, uniform optical frequency combs.
• The device shows potential for applications requiring precise optical signal generation.
• Optimized bias voltage is critical for achieving high-quality comb performance.