High-Speed Silicon Electro-Optic Microring Modulator for Optical Interconnects

Abstract

A silicon microring modulator for ON-OFF keying intensity modulation is presented and experimentally characterized. Modulation operation is based on carrier depletion effect in a p-n junction. The resonance wavelength shift is measured for bias voltages in the range between 0 and -7 V and modulation is demonstrated by employing electrical signals with data rates of 25 and 30 Gb/s and peak-to-peak voltage of 3.75 V. Performance in terms of bit error rate as a function of the optical signal-to-noise ratio for point-to-point transmission over 10 km of single mode fiber at both the data rates is experimentally evaluated, manifesting to be suitable for short- and medium-reach optical interconnects applications.