Open AccessCharacterisation of high‐frequency modulator response via measurements of optical modulation sidebands
Author(s) -
Ng W.,
Sarkissian R.,
Mahalingam H.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
iet optoelectronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.379
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1751-8776
pISSN - 1751-8768
DOI - 10.1049/iet-opt.2015.0084
Subject(s) - radio frequency , electro optic modulator , frequency modulation , bandwidth (computing) , photodetector , modulation (music) , optical modulator , microwave , frequency response , photonics , dynamic range , optoelectronics , optics , physics , materials science , phase modulation , telecommunications , computer science , electrical engineering , acoustics , engineering , quantum mechanics , phase noise
The authors report an approach to characterise the radiofrequency (RF)‐response and bandwidth of photonic modulators by measuring their modulation sidebands in the optical domain. After taking into account the RF‐response measured independently for photodetectors, they demonstrated excellent agreement with swept‐frequency measurements over a broad frequency range of ∼6 to 40 GHz. They also evaluated the dynamic half‐wave voltage ( V π ) of a Mach–Zehnder (MZ) LiNbO 3 modulator by modelling and measuring the asymmetry of its RF‐drive on the two MZ arms. Since there are no RF‐bandwidth constraints in the authors’ reported approach, the technique can be extended to measure the RF‐response of optical modulators at frequencies beyond those supported by microwave instrumentation such as network analysers.