320 Gbps co-planar stripline Mach-Zehnder modulator on a generic indium phosphide integrated photonics platform

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Integrated Photonics
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Mach-Zehnder modulators are crucial for high-speed optical communication.
• Existing designs face limitations in bandwidth and signal integrity.
• Indium Phosphide (InP) is a key material for high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and characterize novel co-planar stripline Mach-Zehnder modulators on an InP platform.
• To achieve high bandwidths and data transmission rates.
• To develop and validate an equivalent circuit model for design optimization.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of co-planar stripline Mach-Zehnder modulators on InP.
• Characterization of device impedance and signal velocity matching.
• Investigation of various design parameters for performance optimization.
• Development and experimental verification of an equivalent circuit model.

Main Results:

• Co-planar design achieved 50 Ω impedance with velocity-matched signals.
• Devices demonstrated high bandwidths of approximately 80 GHz.
• State-of-the-art data transmission rates of 320 Gbit/s were achieved.
• The equivalent circuit model accurately predicts device performance.

Conclusions:

• The co-planar stripline design offers a promising platform for high-performance Mach-Zehnder modulators.
• The developed model facilitates efficient design space exploration for future optimization.
• Optimized devices are predicted to reach bandwidths of approximately 120 GHz.