Comparison of two coplanar waveguide electrodes for Ti:LiNbO3 interferometric modulators

The coplanar waveguide travelling-wave electrodes widely used for Z-cut Ti:LiNbO₃ Mach-Zehnder optical modulators can be divided into two types. One has a wide centre electrode and small electrode gaps, while the other has a narrow centre conductor, wide gaps, and a relatively thick buffer layer. An accurate method for analysing the operational efficiency of the devices with these two electrode structures has been developed using the Galerkin method and the point matching method. Simulation results show that the interaction efficiency of the interferometric modulator with a narrow centre conductor is slightly lower than that with a wide centre electrode. However, the former is more promising because it can achieve a 50 transmission line matched with the drive circuit. The optimization of the optical waveguide position and the fabricational tolerance on the alignment of the electrode pattern are also discussed.     

Investigation of multilayer microstrip electrode for an asymmetric Mach–Zehnder modulator

In the condition of velocity matching and impedance matching, Mach–Zehnder modulator can obtain large bandwidth and low driving voltage. Based on Wheeler’s transformation of multilayer microstrip line, effective permittivity of microwave has been analyzed. Both the microwave index and characteristic impedance are affected by the thickness and the width of microstrip electrode. In order to achieve velocity matching and impedance matching simultaneously, a compensation layer is placed on the electrode. The optimal thicknesses of the electrode and the compensation layer as well as the width of electrode have been obtained. Based on single-mode condition, an asymmetric Mach–Zehnder modulator (AMZM) has been designed and simulated by effective index method and finite-difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM). The initial phase difference between the two arms of the modulator has been achieved 0.522π in the linear region. Comparing with the typical MZM, AMZM can get a larger value of f _3dB , increased by 67.32%.     

应用HFSS和Designer对电光调制器的协同仿真

应用ANSYS公司的HFSS和Designer对一种内嵌共面波导电极结构的聚合物电光调制器进行了协同仿真,设计出了带宽为56 GHz的聚合物电光调制器.通过对光波有效折射率和微波有效折射率的优化,实现了速度匹配.同时利用协同仿真方法对电极进行了优化设计,实现了阻抗匹配并降低了微波损耗.结果表明应用协同仿真方法可以提高计...     

高速光学模数转换器的分析

详细分析了由x切LiNbO3干涉式共面波导行波调制器阵列构成的模数(A/D)转换器，包括其研究进展。采用保角变换方法分析了梯形共面波导电极参数(包括电极厚度、缓冲层厚度与中心电极和接地电极的边沿倾角β1，βg)与转换器的带宽、损耗、特征阻抗和驱动功率的关系。β1=βg=10°，电极厚度为3μm时，4位A/D转换器的工作带宽为7.3GHz，所需驱动功率为6.7W。数值仿真结果表明，采用梯形共面波导调制器阵列设计分辨率适中的高速A/D转换器是可行的。     

Hybrid Electrodes Used in Polymer Electro-Optic Modulator with Ultra-Broadband

Hybrid electrode combined coplanar waveguide (CPW) and microstrip lines in ultra-broadband electro-optic modulators. The characteristics of the modulators with hybrid electrode is like that of the modulator with the microstrip lines, in which the microstrip electrode is loaded above only one arm of Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) optical waveguide, besides the problem of microstrip line to coaxial transition and corona polarization in polymer modulators have been best solved at the same time. By using finite element method (FEM), the characteristic parameters such as half-wave voltage, modulation bandwidth characteristic impedance, effective microwave refractive index of polymer modulators with microstrip line and hybrid electrode are analysed and compared in this paper. The results present that velocity match, impendence match and lower microwave propagating loss is easily realized in modulators with hybrid electrode.     

Full wave analysis of conductor-backed and multi-layer high-Tc superconducting coplanar waveguide

Dispersions, attenuation and characteristic impedance of shielded conductor-backed coplanar waveguide(CBCPW) and shielded three-layer coplanar waveguide (CPW) with finite conductor thickness as well as their superconducting applications are calculated. The method of lines(MoL) is employed to analyze these coplanar waveguides. The analysis is validated by a comparison of the calculated results with those published previously. Effects of finite width of grounded strip for a CPW are considered. Extensive investigation of the numerical convergence for calculation of the characteristic impedance is also described.     

集成电光器件电极的数值分析法

本文描述了一种数值分析方法,计算了集成光学中电光器件电极的电场分布。在电极无限薄的假设条件下,把数值分析法计算的结果同保角变换法的结果进行了比较,并讨论了电极厚度和缓冲层对电场以及特征参量的影响。计算结果表明电极厚度对电场分布影响较小,但特征阻抗和有效介电常数随电极厚度增加明显减小。而且使用缓冲层使波导的有效深度增加,电场强度减小,特征阻抗和有效介电常数都发生很大变化。利用这些特性可对集成光学电光器件的电极进行优化设计。     

基于Wheeler's Conforming Mapping扩展变换法的聚合物电光调制器特性研究

基于Wheeler变换模型,提出了一种分析多层介质微波特征参数的方法--Wheeler's Conforming Mapping扩展变换法,并利用该方法得到了微波特征参数与各层介质参数之间的表达式,在此基础上分析了微带电极的微波特性参数. 与准静态有限元法(QS-FEM)相比,Wheeler's Conforming Mapping扩展变换法不仅计算准确而且具有更高的计算效率. 将该方法应用于聚合物电光调制器的特性研究,对传统模型进行改进,通过添加补偿层来调整微波等效折射率和特征阻抗,改善微波与光波有效折射率的失配度,在理论上实现了聚合物电光调制器的速率和阻抗的同时匹配. 关键词： Wheeler扩展变换法 微带电极 特征参数 等效介电常数     

GaAs traveling-wave optical modulator using a modulated coplanar strip electrode with periodic cross-tie overlay

This paper proposes and analyzes a GaAs traveling-wave optical modulator which uses a modulated coplanar strip electrode with periodic cross-tie overlay. This slow-wave structure can be designed to satisfy phase velocity and impedance matching conditions simultaneously. The dominant conductor loss in the slow-wave structure is reduced using the modulated coplanar strip electrode. The calculated 3-dB modulation bandwidth (100 GHz) is much wider than the bandwidth limit (30 GHz) of conventional electrode structures that are limited by phase velocity mismatch.This work was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office under contract DAAL-03-88-K-0005 and the Texas Advanced Technology Program.     

GaAs travelling-wave optical modulator using a coplanar slow-wave electrode with periodic overlays

A coplanar slow-wave electrode with periodic cross-tie overlays has been used to satisfy the essential phase velocity matching between the modulation and optical waves for wideband travelling-wave optical modulators. For an optimized modulator of 4 mm length at 1.3 m light wavelength, the calculated halfwave modulation voltage (23 V) is slightly higher than that (20 V) of conventional coplanar modulators but the 3 dB bandwidth (100 GHz) is much wider than the bandwidth limit (30 GHz) of walkoff-limited conventional coplanar modulators. The measured effective index (4.61) of the modulation wave is much higher than that (2.65) of conventional coplanar electrodes and agrees very well with the calculated one (4.25).     

High-Speed Coplanar Waveguide Based Submount for 40 Gbit/s Electroabsorption Modulator

A high-speed submount has been designed and fabricated for 40 Gb/s electroabsorption (EA) modulators. The submount contains a coplanar waveguide (CPW) for microwave signal feeding and a Ta₂N thin-film resistor for impedance matching. The CPW transmission line is designed to ensure low microwave loss and reflection, and Ti/Cu/Ni/Au metal is adopted for electrode fabrication to guarantee good contact with the Ta₂N thin-film. The typical reflection coefficient of fabricated submount is estimated to be lower than−21 dB up to 40 GHz. As a demonstration, a high-speed EA modulator was chip-level packaged using the high-speed submount, and the measured small-signal modulation bandwidth was over 40 GHz.     

Broadband and low-driving-power LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>electrooptic modulators

Microwave and optical properties of lithium niobate electrooptic modulators are investigated in this paper. The effect of simultaneous matching of optical and microwave velocities and impedance matching, conductor loss, dielectric loss on the optical bandwidth of an ultra-high-speed lithium niobate modulator are presented here. The metal electrode design, buffer thickness, ridge depth, and the gap between electrodes at different operating frequencies on device performance are thoroughly investigated by using the finite element method.     

Optical and microwave analysis of mushroom-type waveguides for traveling wave electroabsorption modulators based on asymmetric intra-step-barrier coupled double strained quantum wells by full-vectorial method

The finite difference method is exploited for a full-vectorial analysis of mushroom-type waveguides for traveling wave electroabsorption modulators (TWEAM) based on asymmetric intra-step-barrier coupled double strained quantum wells (AICD-SQW). In this analysis, the discontinuities of the normal components of the electric field across abrupt dielectric interfaces which are known as the limitations of scalar and semivectorial approximation methods are considered. The optical field distributions in mushroom-type TWEAM based on AICD-SQW and conventional ridge-type TWEAM of the same active region for 1.55 μm operation are presented. The important parameters in the high-frequency TWEAM design such as optical effective index which defines optical velocity and transverse mode confinement factor are calculated. Then, the transmission line microwave properties (microwave index, microwave loss, and characteristic impedance) of TWEAMs are obtained. The modulation response of mushroom-type TWEAM is calculated using circuit model by considering interaction between microwave and optical fields in waveguide and compared with conventional ridge-type TWEAM. It is found that increasing the width of p-cladding layer with the same i-layer to reduce the resistance in p-i-n mushroom-type waveguide of TWEAM based on AICD-SQW can improve the microwave propagation loss and thus the high-speed electro-optical response.     

Broadband and high‐efficiency conversion from guided waves to spoof surface plasmon polaritons

The conversion from spatial propagating waves to surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) has been well studied, and shown to be very efficient by using gradient‐index metasurfaces. However, feeding energies into and extracting signals from functional plasmonic devices or circuits through transmission lines require the efficient conversion between SPPs and guided waves, which has not been reported, to the best of our knowledge. In this paper, a smooth bridge between the conventional coplanar waveguide (CPW) with 50 Ω impedance and plasmonic waveguide (e.g., an ultrathin corrugated metallic strip) has been proposed in the microwave frequency, which converts the guided waves to spoof SPPs with high efficiency in broadband. A matching transition has been proposed and designed, which is constructed by gradient corrugations and flaring ground, to match both the momentum and impedance of CPW and the plasmonic waveguide. Simulated and measured results on the transmission coefficients and near‐filed distributions show excellent transmission efficiency from CPW to a plasmonic waveguide to CPW in a wide frequency band. The high‐efficiency and broadband conversion between SPPs and guided waves opens up a new avenue for advanced conventional plasmonic integrated functional devices and circuits.     

A novel super-broadband travelling-wave modulator with nonperiodic domain inversions and ridge structure

In order to obtain large broadband, a novel travelling-wave modulator with nonperiodic domain inversions and ridge structure is proposed. The composite structure is designed to achieve velocity matching between the optical wave and the microwave, to get a 50Ωcharacteristic impedance and to reduce the loss of the microwave electrodes with finite element method (FEM). The calculation results show that the frequency response of the new device is flat up to 350 GHz with interaction length of 1 cm, characteristic impedance of 49Ω, and microwave refractive index of 2.5.     

Design and analysis of coplanar waveguide optical modulator using finite element method

An analysis is given on the finite element method (FEM) for calculating the various parameters of optical modulators and a computer program is written to solve the finite element equation. Based on this method, a Mach-Zehnder type electro-optic modulator with coplanar waveguide (CPW) electrode is designed and fabricated. When compared with the Fourier series method, small differences on the 3-dB bandwidth, characteristic impedance and half-wave voltage, etc. are obtained.     

Optimization of broadband RF performance and ESD robustness by π-model distributed ESD protection scheme

Large electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices close to the I/O pins, beneficial for ESD protection, have an adverse effect on the performance of broadband radio-frequency (RF) circuits for impedance mismatch and bandwidth degradation. A new proposed ESD protection structure, $\pi$-model distributed ESD ($\pi$-DESD) protection circuit, composed of one pair of ESD devices near the I/O pin, the other pair close to the core circuit, and a coplanar waveguide with under-grounded shield (CPWG) connecting these two pairs, can successfully achieve both excellent ESD robustness and good broadband RF performance. Cooperating with the active power-rail ESD clamp circuit, the experimental chip in a 0.25-μm CMOS process can sustain the human-body-model (HBM) ESD stress of 8 kV.     

Sliding backshorts for planar circuits

The Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction is an extremely sensitive heterodyne detector at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The large inherent capacitance associated with this device results in a substantial impedance mismatch with typical antennas and, therefore, requires a tuning circuit for optimum results. At frequencies where waveguide dimensions are realizable, impedance matching can be accomplished by embedding the detector in a waveguide circuit with adjustable waveguide backshorts. At higher frequencies, where waveguide dimensions become prohibitively small, a planar transmission line embedding circuit provides a reasonable alternative. Typically, such planar circuits offer no post-fabrication adjustability, resulting in demanding materials and design requirements. An adjustable planar embedding circuit based on coplanar transmission lines with movable noncontacting shorting elements has been developed. The shorting elements each consist of a thin metallic plate with an optimized arrangement of rectangular holes, placed along the insulated metallic transmission line to provide a periodic variation of the line impedance. A scadel (1–5 GHz) has shown that a large reflection coefficient, |s ₁₁|–0.5 dB, can be achieved with these sliding elements. A low frequency tuning circuit incorporating these shorting elements has been tested to demonstrate practical tuning ranges.     

CAD Models for a Boxed Coplanar Waveguide with Multilayered Substrates and Overlays

By the conformal mapping method, CAD-oriented analytical closed-form expressions for the quasi-TEM parameters for a boxed coplanar waveguide (BCPW) with multilayered substrates and overlays are presented. The parameters include the effective dielectric constant, the characteristic impedance, the wavelength of the guided wave, and the capacitance per unit length. All of the formulas obtained in this paper are simple and accurate enough for microwave circuits' designs and are useful for transmission line theory.     

Design and fabrication of multi-channel photodetector array monolithic with arrayed waveguide grating

We have provided optical simulations of the evanescently coupled waveguide photodiodes integrated with a 13-channels AWGs. The photodiode could exhibit high internal efficiency by appropriate choice of layers geometry and refractive index. Aseamless joint structure has been designed and fabricated for integrating the output waveguides of AWGs with the evanescently coupled waveguide photodiode array. The highest simulation quantum efficiency could achieve 92% when the matching layer thickness of the PD is 120 nm and the insertion length is 2 μm. The fabricated PD with 320-nm-thick matching layer and 2-μm-length insertion matching layer present a responsivity of 0.87 A/W.