Breaking the Baud Rate Ceiling of Electro-Optic Modulators Using Optical Equalization Technique

Abstract: This study presents an effective optical equalization technique for generating ultrahigh baud rate signals. The equalization technique was demonstrated using a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DDMZM) with two-phase shifters having different bandwidths, which can be achieved by adjusting the structural design of the modulator or by incorporating varying bias voltages. When the two phase shifters are driven by appropriately sized driving signals, their partially offsetting response significantly reduces the rise and fall times of the output signal. The experiments were conducted using silicon DDMZMs without digital signal processing (DSP). In an experiment utilizing a low-speed silicon modulator, the on-off keying (OOK) modulating speed was improved from 30 to 90 Gbaud. In an experiment utilizing a high-speed silicon modulator, the OOK modulating speed was improved from 100 to 128 Gbaud, which approached the limit of our testing system. This remains the highest baud rate achieved by an all-silicon modulator without DSP. This technique breaks the baud rate ceiling of the modulator and has the potential to enable silicon modulators to operate at 200 Gbaud and beyond. The versatility of this method extends to a wide range of optoelectronic platforms, encompassing thin-film lithium niobate and indium phosphide modulators.