Modeling Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) Modulator on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI)

This paper discusses the effects of different applied voltages on the performance of Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) modulator on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI). The analysis was done at a wavelength of 1550 nm. The phase modulator was implemented using the forward biased effect of the p-i-n structure. Meanwhile, the MMI splitter and combiner were utilized in order to develop the MZI structure. The design and simulation for the electrical structure were carried out using Athena and Atlas from Silvaco International. Besides, the OptiBPM and OptiSys from Optiwave Corporation were utilized for the optical structure. The analyzed output parameters include the extinction ratio (ER), the insertion loss and the modulation efficiency. It is observed that the application of lower voltage on the modulator displays the best overall performance.

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