Silicon photonic modulator circuit with programmable intensity and phase modulation response

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Deng, Hong, Zhang, Yu, Chen, Xiangfeng, Bogaerts, Wim
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Deng, Hong
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Xiangfeng
Bogaerts, Wim
author_facet Deng, Hong
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Xiangfeng
Bogaerts, Wim
contents Electro-optical modulators are essential components in optical communication systems. They encode an electrical waveform onto an optical carrier. However, their performance is often limited by inherent electro-optic processes and imperfections in existing integrated designs, which limit their adaptability to diverse applications. This paper presents a circuit-level programmable modulator design that addresses these challenges. The proposed modulator can generate both intensity and phase modulation, optimizing performance without altering the underlying design or constraining platform limitations. We explain and demonstrate the principle with both carrier depletion-based modulators and SiGe electro-absorption modulators on a silicon photonic platform. Experiments demonstrate precise control and optimization capabilities surpassing those of traditional modulator designs, marking a significant leap forward in adaptability and performance enhancement across intensity, phase, and modulation linearity, enabled by programmable photonics. In combination with on-chip monitors, our circuit can be self-calibrating. This programmable modulator circuit concept can be applied to modulators in different platforms, incorporating existing phase shifter designs, and act as a drop-in replacement in more complex circuits. It has the potential to be widely used in optical communication, LiDAR, microwave photonics, and other systems, meeting the increasing demands of various applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_20300
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Silicon photonic modulator circuit with programmable intensity and phase modulation response
Deng, Hong
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Xiangfeng
Bogaerts, Wim
Optics
Applied Physics
Electro-optical modulators are essential components in optical communication systems. They encode an electrical waveform onto an optical carrier. However, their performance is often limited by inherent electro-optic processes and imperfections in existing integrated designs, which limit their adaptability to diverse applications. This paper presents a circuit-level programmable modulator design that addresses these challenges. The proposed modulator can generate both intensity and phase modulation, optimizing performance without altering the underlying design or constraining platform limitations. We explain and demonstrate the principle with both carrier depletion-based modulators and SiGe electro-absorption modulators on a silicon photonic platform. Experiments demonstrate precise control and optimization capabilities surpassing those of traditional modulator designs, marking a significant leap forward in adaptability and performance enhancement across intensity, phase, and modulation linearity, enabled by programmable photonics. In combination with on-chip monitors, our circuit can be self-calibrating. This programmable modulator circuit concept can be applied to modulators in different platforms, incorporating existing phase shifter designs, and act as a drop-in replacement in more complex circuits. It has the potential to be widely used in optical communication, LiDAR, microwave photonics, and other systems, meeting the increasing demands of various applications.
title Silicon photonic modulator circuit with programmable intensity and phase modulation response
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20300