A hybrid electroabsorption modulator device for generation of high spectral-efficiency optical modulation formats

Modulator-free quadrature amplitude modulation signal synthesis

The ability to generate high-speed on–off-keyed telecommunication signals by directly modulating a semiconductor laser’s drive current was one of the most exciting prospective applications of the nascent field of laser technology throughout the 1960s. Three decades of progress led to the commercialization of 2.5 Gbit s⁻¹-per-channel submarine fibre optic systems that drove the growth of the internet as a global phenomenon. However, the detrimental frequency chirp associated with direct modulation forced industry to use external electro-optic modulators to deliver the next generation of on–off-keyed 10 Gbit s⁻¹ systems and is absolutely prohibitive for today’s (>)100 Gbit s⁻¹ coherent systems, which use complex modulation formats (for example, quadrature amplitude modulation). Here we use optical injection locking of directly modulated semiconductor lasers to generate complex modulation format signals showing distinct advantages over current and other currently researched solutions.

Quadrature amplitude modulation signalling is currently enabling rapid data transfer capacity growth, but it still has associated drawbacks. Here, Liu et al. use optical injection locking to generate complex modulation format signals with reduced consumption, small footprint and easy integration.