Distributed CMOS driver with enhanced drive voltage for silicon optical push-pull Mach-Zehnder modulators
Disclosed are structures and methods for CMOS drivers that drive silicon optical push-pull Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) with twice the drive voltage per interferometer arm as with prior art designs.
1. A silicon optical modulator driver comprising:
driver circuitry configured to:
electrically drive, with a first driver, a first plurality of diodes with a first modulating signal, the first plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on a first common optical waveguide arm of a Mach-Zehnder optical modulator;
electrically drive, with a second driver different than the first driver, a second plurality of diodes with a second modulating signal, the second plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on a second common optical waveguide arm of the Mach-Zehnder optical modulator;
wherein at least a first diode of the first plurality of diodes is electrically connected in parallel to at least a second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
2. A method comprising:
electrically driving, with a first driver, a first waveguide arm of a Mach-Zehnder optical modulator and, with a second driver different than the first driver, a second waveguide arm of the Mach-Zehnder optical modulator by providing a first modulating voltage to a first plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on the first waveguide arm and a second modulating voltage to a second plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on the second waveguide arm;
wherein at least a first diode of the first plurality of diodes is electrically connected in parallel to at least a second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising electrically biasing at least the first diode of the first plurality of diodes using a capacitor connected in series to the first diode of the first plurality of diodes.
4. A Mach-Zehnder optical modulator comprising:
a first waveguide arm of the Mach-Zehnder optical modulator optically coupled to an input waveguide and to an output waveguide;
a second waveguide arm of the Mach-Zehnder optical modulator optically coupled to the input waveguide and to the output waveguide;
a first plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on the first waveguide arm;
a second plurality of diodes disposed at differing locations on the second waveguide arm;
a first driver coupled to the first plurality of diodes; and
a second driver different than the first driver and coupled to the second plurality of diodes,
wherein at least a first diode of the first plurality of diodes is electrically connected in parallel to at least a second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
5. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 4 , further comprising control circuitry configured to electrically drive, with the first driver, the first plurality of diodes and, with the second driver, the second plurality of diodes.
6. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 4 , further comprising a plurality of capacitors, wherein at least one capacitor of the plurality of capacitors is disposed in series to a corresponding diode of the first plurality of diodes.
7. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 6 , wherein each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors is disposed in series to a respective diode of the first plurality of diodes.
8. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 4 , wherein the first and the second waveguide arms are made of silicon.
9. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 4 , wherein the first diode of the first plurality of diodes has a cathode electrically coupled to an anode of the second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
10. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator of claim 4 , wherein the first diode of the first plurality of diodes has an anode electrically coupled to a cathode of the second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
11. The silicon optical modulator driver of claim 1 , wherein the driver circuitry is further configured to electrically bias at least the first diode of the first plurality of diodes using a capacitor connected in series to the first diode of the first plurality of diodes.
12. The silicon optical modulator driver of claim 1 , wherein the first diode of the first plurality of diodes has an anode electrically coupled to a cathode of the second diode of the second plurality of diodes.
13. The method of claim 2 , wherein electrically driving the first waveguide arm of the Mach-Zehnder optical modulator comprises matching an optical group velocity of an optical mode propagating along the first waveguide arm with the first modulating voltage.