4×53 Gbit/s Electro-Optic Engine with Arrays of Surface-Normal Electroabsorption Modulators
09 January 2023
Short-reach communication systems use electro-optic transmission engines based on low-voltage, wide bandwidth modulators to achieve high capacity and low power operation. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, integration of 4-channel arrays of surface-normal electroabsorption modulators (SNEAMs) with 4-channel arrays of electronic drivers with low output voltage (~1.25-1.45 Vpp). We use this 4-channel SNEAM-driver array electro-optic engine to demonstrate 4×53 Gbit/s non-return-to-zero on-off-keying transmission across up to 2 km of standard single mode fiber and over a broad wavelength range (about 26 nm), the widest band of operation achieved with SNEAMs. Integration of SNEAM arrays with low output voltage driver arrays, result that we achieved thanks to the use of SNEAMs that operate with low voltage swings, represents a fundamental milestone toward the realization of optical modules based on SNEAMs.
