Monday, 07 June
14:00 – 14:30
John Bowers, Univ. of California at Santa Barbara, USA
Amplitude and phase modulation of light for transmission at 10, 40 and 100 Gbit/s and beyond are a critical problem for fiber-optic networks. We will review the basic concepts of high speed laser modulation and high speed optical modulators. The fundamental physics and design of modulators will be reviewed. The microwave characteristics of semiconductor lasers, important for high-speed digital and analog applications, are presented. Methods to increase the bandwidth are illustrated with examples from literature, along with results showing the current state of the art.