28 Gbaud 16-QAM modulation with compact driver module for InP MZM

Abstract

This paper presents a compact driver module for InP Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM). The size of the driver module is 14 mm × 8 mm × 2.8 mm. We reduce the size of this driver module by integrating two channels for the driver IC, which doesn’t require any external bias tee, and by making the driver package small. With this driver module and InP MZM module mounted on evaluation board, we obtained a well separated 16-QAM constellation at the speed of 28 Gbaud.