Low-power resonator modulators for advanced modulation formats

Micro-resonator modulators are very attractive due to their small footprints and low power consumption. They have been widely investigated for short-reach optical interconnects in data centres and computing systems. While these tiny modulators usually operate with low modulation depths and in simple on-off-keying, there is recent interest to explore their application for advanced modulation formats and high-capacity optical transmissions. We have demonstrated ultra-fast pulsed-amplitude modulation at 80 Gb/s, the highest bit rate ever achieved with a single micro-ring modulator, while maintaining ultra-low power consumption at the level of femtojoule per bit [paper].