EO polymer modulators reliability study

Abstract

The reliability of high speed polymer electro-optic (EO) modulators is the most critical milestone for the use of these materials in commercial applications. We present recent thermal stability data at material and device level that proves the stability at 85 °C for 25 years of GigOptix' polymer modulators. Fundamentally, the reliability of the device materials lays the foundation for stable final devices, thus the EO materials properties was monitored from batch to batch after synthesis and during wafer fabrication. Key parameters at chip level were analyzed to show the performance distribution on a 6" wafer. Thermal study performed at chip level fitted using Jonscher model was used to determine the isothermal aging stability of EO coefficient for 25 years and the EO materials' activation energy. M3 EO material shows <10 % change in EO coefficient while operating at 85 °C for 25 years.