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High-frequency characterization of electro-optic modulation chips based on photonic down-conversion sampling and
Optics Express
|October 27, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a self-referencing, on-chip method for characterizing electro-optic modulator (EOM) chips. The technique accurately extracts intrinsic frequency responses, including modulation index and half-wave voltage, crucial for device optimization.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optoelectronics
- Microwave Engineering
- Semiconductor Device Characterization
Background:
- Electro-optic modulators (EOMs) are critical components in optical communication systems.
- Accurate characterization of EOMs, including their frequency response, modulation index, and half-wave voltage, is essential for performance optimization.
- Existing characterization methods often require external equipment or lack on-chip capabilities, limiting their applicability and efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a self-referencing and on-chip method for extracting intrinsic frequency responses of EOM chips.
- To accurately determine the modulation index and half-wave voltage of EOMs.
- To provide a versatile characterization technique applicable to EOMs with varying impedance matching.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing photonic down-conversion sampling to capture the combined response of the source network, adapter network, and EOM chip.
- Implementing Open-Short-Load (OSL) calibration for on-chip microwave de-embedding of network parameters, including transmission attenuation and impedance mismatch.
- Employing a power leveling technique to track incident microwave power for precise half-wave voltage extraction.
Main Results:
- Successfully extracted intrinsic frequency responses of EOM chips using the proposed self-referencing, on-chip method.
- Demonstrated the capability to determine both modulation index and half-wave voltage accurately.
- Validated the method's applicability to EOMs with suboptimal impedance matching.
Conclusions:
- The developed method offers a self-referencing and on-chip solution for EOM characterization.
- This technique simplifies chip evaluation and packaging optimization by eliminating the need for external optical/electrical transducers.
- The approach is robust and applicable to a wide range of EOM chips, facilitating advancements in photonic device development.
