Characterization of an Electro-Absorption Modulator Design With High-Dynamic Range for Broadband Analog Applications

Abstract

An electro-absorption modulator (EAM) is designed to optimize dynamic range performance over 20 GHz bandwidth. The single stripe waveguide enables an extremely compact and integrated package to be fabricated with single mode fiber pigtails. The transfer function's shape permits suppression of higher order intermodulation products, yielding a spur-free dynamic range exceeding that of Mach-Zehnder designs. A dilute optical core diverts energy flow from absorbing layers into a low loss waveguide; the 20 dBm optical power tolerance is significantly higher than that of commercially available electro-absorption devices. The tunable performance over 20GHz is characterized and applications are discussed. New approaches to the broadband impedance matching requirements are calculated and the impact on system performance is assessed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA490148

Entities

People

  • Brian Mckeon
  • Charles Schick
  • Henry Zmuda
  • Ivan Shubin
  • Nancy Stoffel
  • Paul Cook
  • Paul K. L. Yu
  • Rebecca Bussjager
  • Reinhard Erdmann
  • Richard Michalak
  • Songsheng Tan
  • Terrance Mcdonald
  • Xiaobo Xie

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Bandwidth
  • Broadband
  • Detectors
  • Dynamic Range
  • Electro-Absorption Modulators
  • Frequency
  • High Dynamic Range
  • Impedance
  • Modulation
  • Modulators
  • Optical Detectors
  • Power Levels
  • Radio Frequency Power
  • Transmission Lines
  • Waveguides

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electronics Engineering
  • Optical Fiber Sensing and Electromagnetic Propagation.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.