Performance analysis of reverse biased silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators using slow light corrugated waveguides: Bandwidth and loss study

摘要

Performance of a slow light modulator using corrugated waveguide operating at band edge is studied in terms of bandwidth and loss. It is shown that the electrical bandwidth of the slow-light modulator can be enhanced compared to non-slow light modulators using the same drive voltage, by decreasing the length of the modulator. Limitations imposed by the slow light structure in terms of loss and optical bandwidth are also investigated for medium slow-down factor values using numerical simulations. The loss and optical bandwidth due to the slow light effect would respectively increase and decrease by increasing the slow-down factor. The loss remains in an acceptable range of 3 dB and the optical bandwidth would be slightly more than 400GHz using a slow-down factor of 3. This analysis could open up a new horizon for the realization of high-speed modulators which are useful for microwave photonics applications in the existing photonic IC Foundries.