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Ghorbanpoursayar, Ensieh

University of British Columbia

Within modern silicon-photonics-based optical communication systems, silicon microring modulators emerge as promising components, offering remarkable advantages in density, energy efficiency, and wavelength-division multiplexing operation. Segmenting these microring modulators and driving each segment with a simple 2-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-2) signal has also demonstrated potential for achieving higher-level PAM and enhancing link spectral efficiency, while ensuring power efficiency and simplicity. Despite their potential, silicon microring modulators have encountered limited adoption, primarily due to the inherent challenges associated with their resonance-based structure. These challenges render them highly susceptible to fabrication variations and temperature fluctuations, exacerbated by silicon’s high thermo-optic coefficient. Addressing this challenge is imperative for realizing the full potential of silicon microring modulators in next-generation optical interconnects. While various solutions have been proposed to address this challenge, a method that can be utilized for PAM-N modulation and generalized for any PAM level modulation, while also being scalable,cost-effective, energy-efficient, and immune to optical power fluctuations has not yet been thoroughly explored. This thesis proposes the utilization of one segment of a segmented microring, specifically designed for PAM-N modulation, as an integrated temperature sensor. The aim is to continuously monitor the temperature and stabilize the resonance wavelength of the microring. This approach aims to mitigate the impact of temperature fluctuations on modulation efficiency in dynamic environments characterized by frequent temperature changes that could otherwise degrade performance. This approach’s efficacy will first be showcased through PAM-2 modulation, demonstrating through measurement that the control technique can compensate for up to a 7°C (equivalent to a 320 pm wavelength variation) temperature fluctuation within the ring using a 3V heater voltage. Further results for PAM-3 modulation demonstrates that the controller can effectively compensate for temperature fluctuations within the ring, even under higher levels of modulation such as PAM-3. The proposed control mechanism exhibits robustness against fluctuations in the ring input power and holds promise for low-power operation. This evolution will illustrate the adaptability of the concept to higher levels of PAM modulation.

Text

2024-10-22

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89474

Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/