Optoelectronics Letters, Volume. 9, Issue 4, 254(2013)

Design and performance of a polymer Mach-Zehnder interferometer electro-optic modulator at 1.55 μm

Chuan-tao ZHENG*, Lei LIANG, Yun-fei YAN, Chun-sheng MA, and Da-ming ZHANG
Author Affiliations
  • State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
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    Based on poled guest-host electro-optic (EO) polymer DR1/SU-8, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) EO modulator operated at 1.55 μm is proposed. For achieving high response speed and high EO modulation efficiency, both waveguide structure and electrode structure are especially optimized. The impedance match and less index mismatch are achieved. The final characteristic impedance of electrode is about 49.4 Ω, and the microwave index and the lightwave index are 1.5616 and 1.6006, respectively. The device is fabricated using wet-etching technique and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technique, and its performance is measured at 1.55 μm. Experimental results show that when the applied voltage is tuned, the modulator can be changed from ON state to OFF state. The insertion loss at ON state is 12 dB and the extinction ratio between ON and OFF states is about 10 dB. The high response speed is in nanosecond level for a square-wave signal. Therefore, the modulator possesses potential applications in high-speed optical networks on chip.

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    ZHENG Chuan-tao, LIANG Lei, YAN Yun-fei, MA Chun-sheng, ZHANG Da-ming. Design and performance of a polymer Mach-Zehnder interferometer electro-optic modulator at 1.55 μm[J]. Optoelectronics Letters, 2013, 9(4): 254

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    Paper Information

    Received: Jan. 2, 2013

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Oct. 12, 2017

    The Author Email: Chuan-tao ZHENG (zhengchuantao578@163.com)

    DOI:10.1007/s11801-013-3003-9

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