40 Gbit/s electroabsorption modulators with 1.1 V driving voltage

Abstract

40 Gbit/s electroabsorption modulators with an RF extinction ratio of 10 dB and driven by a peak-to-peak voltage as low as 1.1 V have been successfully fabricated. This low driving voltage is achieved by employing strain-compensated InGaAlAs/InAlAs multi-quantum-well layers with very good extinction characteristics and by optimising the number of wells and electroabsorption length.