Low-Cost 400 Gbps DR4 Silicon Photonics Transmitter for Short-Reach Datacenter Application.

Targeting high-speed, low-cost, short-reach intra-datacenter connections, we designed and tested an integrated silicon photonic circuit as a transmitter engine. This engine can be packaged into an optical transceiver module which meets the QSFP-DD Form Factor, together with other electrical/optical components. We first present the design and performance of a high-speed silicon modulator, which had a 3-dB EO bandwidth of >40 GHz and an ER of >5 dB.

Grating-assisted silicon-on-insulator racetrack resonator reflector.

We experimentally demonstrate a grating-assisted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) racetrack resonator reflector with a reflect port suppression of 10.3 dB and no free spectral range. We use contra-directional grating couplers within the coupling regions of the racetrack resonator to enable suppression of all but one of the peaks within the reflect port spectrum as well as all but one of the notches within the through port spectrum.

Process calibration method for designing silicon-on-insulator contra-directional grating couplers.

We present a process calibration method for designing silicon-on-insulator (SOI) contra-directional grating couplers (contra-DCs). Our method involves determining the coupling coefficients of fabricated contra-DCs by using their full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidths. As compared to the null method that uses the bandwidth measured at the first nulls, our FWHM method obtains more consistent results since the FWHM bandwidth is more easily determined.

Experimental demonstration of a silicon-on-insulator high-performance double microring filter using MZI-based coupling.

We have experimentally demonstrated, in silicon, a double microring resonator with Mach-Zehnder interferometer-based coupling that meets many commercial specifications. Our device has a ripple of 0.5 dB, an adjacent channel isolation of at least 41.

Thermally tunable quadruple Vernier racetrack resonators.

The spectral responses of series-coupled racetrack resonators exhibiting the Vernier effect have many attractive features as compared to the spectral responses of identical series-coupled racetrack resonators, such as free spectral range (FSR) extension and enhanced wavelength tunability. Here we present experimental results of a thermally tunable quadruple series-coupled silicon racetrack resonator exhibiting the Vernier effect. We thermally tune two of the four racetrack resonators to enable discrete switching of the major peak by 15.

Experimental performance of DWDM quadruple Vernier racetrack resonators.

We demonstrate that one can meet numerous commercial requirements for filters used in dense wavelength-division multiplexing applications using quadruple Vernier racetrack resonators in the silicon-on-insulator platform. Experimental performance shows a ripple of 0.2 dB, an interstitial peak suppression of 39.