Modeling and Design of a Velocity-Matched Traveling-Wave Electro-Optic Modulator on InP

Performance Analysis of Six Electro-Optical Crystals in a High-Bandwidth Traveling Wave Mach-Zehnder Light Modulator

“…The assumed geometry in this model (Figure 6) did not converge when utilizing Indium Phosphide (InP) as the EO medium. Consequently, to investigate the possibility of employing InP as the EO material in a TW-MZM and evaluate its performance, the results published by Pascher et al (2003) [5] were referred to in this study.…”

“…In the case of CdTe utilization, the SiO2 layer was substituted with a Si layer, and the thickness of the Si layer was optimized instead of the SiO2 layer thickness. The assumed geometry in this model didn't converge for InP; therefore, the results calculated by Pascher et al (2003) [5] were presented and compared to the other five EO materials.…”

“…As mentioned, the optical wave's group velocity and the microwave's phase velocity must be matched to increase the modulation bandwidth. The maximum bandwidth of the TW-MZM will be the frequency of the RF wave, which has a phase velocity matched to the group velocity of the optical wave [5].…”

“…Therefore, altering the SiO2 thickness does not affect the propagation constant of the optical wave; instead, it solely controls the propagation constant of the RF wave (Figure 5). 2003) [5,11] conducted similar studies where they optimized the SiO2 layer thickness in a thin film TW-MZM to attain velocity matching between the RF and optical waves to maximize the modulation bandwidth. Wang et al ( 2018) [11] focused on a TW-MZM with an assumed geometry and LNB as the EO medium, while Pascher et al ( 2003) [5] explored a different geometry using InP as the EO medium.…”

“…This study aimed to investigate the effects of different EO materials on the performance of the TW-MZM after optimizing for the velocity matching between the RF and optical waves in the case of using each of those six EO mediums. This approach to optimizing the TW-MZM and evaluating the achievable bandwidth and losses was first introduced by Pascher et al in 2003. In that research, Pascher et al (2003) [5] assumed a structure for a TW-MZM. They optimized that structure for using InP as the EO medium to match the phase velocity of the RF Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s).…”