Loss compensation of ultra-wideband electro-optic modulator in heterogeneous silicon/erbium-doped lithium niobate

作者：Jing Wang, Nina Xiong, and Weiwen Zou*
摘要：Electro-optic modulators (EOMs) are indispensable elements for integrated photonic circuits. However, optical insertion losses limit the EOM capability towards scalable integration. Here, we propose a novel EOM schematic on a heterogeneous platform of silicon and erbium-doped lithium niobate (Si/Er:LN). In this design, the electro-optic modulation and optical amplification are simultaneously employed in phase shifters of the EOM. The excellent electro-optic property of lithium niobate is maintained to achieve an ultra-wideband modulation. Meanwhile, the optical amplification is performed by adopting the stimulated transitions of erbium ions in the Er:LN, leading to an effective optical loss compensation. Theoretical analysis shows that a bandwidth exceeding 170 GHz with a halfwave voltage of 3 V is successfully realized. Moreover, the efficient propagation compensation of ~4 dB is predicted at the wavelength of 1531 nm.
出版源：Optics Letters
论文链接