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US 11,112,623 B1Granted
Distributed CMOS driver with enhanced drive voltage for silicon optical push-pull Mach-Zehnder modulators
AssigneeAcacia Communications, Inc.
InventorChristopher Doerr
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for driving an optical push-pull Mach-Zehnder modulator.
Claims19
A silicon optical modulator driver comprising:
- driver circuitry configured to:
- electrically drive 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;
- and
- electrically drive 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 more elements
A method comprising:
- electrically driving a first waveguide arm of a Mach-Zehnder optical modulator and 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.
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;
- and
- a driver coupled to the first plurality of diodes 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.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.