Compact, High-Speed Mach-Zehnder Modulator with On-Chip Linear Drivers in Photonic BiCMOS Technology

A monolithically integrated electronic-photonic Mach-Zehnder modulator is presented, incorporating electronic linear drivers along with photonic components. Electro-optical 3 dB & 6 dB bandwidths of 24 GHz and 34 GHz, respectively, were measured. The measurements are in good agreement with electronic-photonic post-layout simulation results and verify the design methodology. A full π phase shift was achieved by applying a differential input voltage of V π = 420 mV to the driver input, effectively decreasing the required modulation voltage by a factor of approximately 10.