ABSTRACT
Using a feedback system, a micro-ring modulator can maintain error-free performance under thermal fluctuations that would normally render it inoperable. A feedback system thermally stabilizes the micro-ring modulator by monitoring the temperature, and then adjusting the local temperature of the modulator using an appropriate mechanism. Optical interconnections as interconnections become the bottleneck for the next-generation computing systems. The silicon modulator is a key component for CMOS-compatible optical interconnection systems. High-speed modulators based on free-carrier plasma dispersion effect have been demonstrated using either Mach-Zehnder Interferomete or Micro-Ring Resonators. For the Wavelength Division Multiplexing interconnection systems, in addition to the low power consumption and small size, ring modulators have an advantage: they modulate only light at particular wavelengths and allow light at all other wavelengths to pass through the modulators without been affected. Numerous high performance silicon electro-optic modulators have been demonstrated which generate Non-Return-to-Zero encoding at bit-rates as high as 40 Gbps.
