Microring modulators for power efficient multi-level transmission: How to break the 100 Gbit/s barrier

摘要

Silicon photonics enables new pinnacles of large-scale photonic integration, aiming at the need for large bandwidth in next-generation data centers and interconnects systems. Ultra-high data streams are thus required in the smallest footprint using the lowest amount of power possible. On the silicon-on-insulator platform, microring modulators are a promising solution providing desirable compactness and ultra-low-power operation. This paper discusses the latest demonstrations and mechanisms used to approach the 100 Gb/s mark using microring modulators.