Research Article Vol. 30, No.

20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35478

Widely tunable O-band lithium niobite/III-V

transmitter
YA H AN , 1,2 X IAN Z HANG , 1,2 R UI M A , M ENGYUE X U , H EYUN TAN ,
J IE L IU , R UIJUN WANG , S IYUAN Y U , AND X INLUN C AI *
1 State
Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and
Information Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, China
2 Equal contributors.
* caixlun5@mail.sysu.edu.cn

Abstract: The ever-increasing traffic has been driving the demand for compact, high-speed, and
low-power-consumption optical transmitters. Thin-film lithium niobite (TFLN) platforms have
emerged as promising photonic integrated solutions for next-generation optical transmitters. In
this study, we demonstrated the first widely tunable optical transmitter based on a butt-coupling
a TFLN modulator with an electrically pumped tunable laser. The tunable laser exhibited a
side-mode suppression ratio of > 60 dB, linewidth of 475 kHz, and wavelength-tuning range
of over 40 nm. The TFLN modulator presented a voltage-length product of 2.9 V·cm and an
electro-optic response of 1.5 dB roll-off at 50 GHz. The optical transmitter support data rate was
as high as 160 Gb/s.

© 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

1. Introduction
The global data traffic is witnessing booming growth and has driven modern data centers into
the “Zettabyte Era” [1]. Because of this rapid expansion, transmitters across all levels of optical
networks are now required to increase the data rates drastically while maintaining a reduced power
consumption as well as remaining cost effective. An electro-optic modulator is a critical building
block of optical transmitters [2]. Recently, thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) has emerged as a
promising platform for fabricating high-performance electro-optic modulators [3–5]. Compared
with the legacy lithium niobate modulators, the TFLN modulators offer noticeable improvements
in voltage-bandwidth performance, while retaining the key material advantages, such as a linear
response, high extinction ratio, and low optical loss [6].
However, lithium niobate materials cannot generate light efficiently, which is a major drawback
for their application in optical transmitters. To date, numerous TFLN lasers have been developed
to address this issue. For example, optically pumped TFLN microcavity lasers can be achieved
by doping TFLN with erbium ions [7,8]. More importantly, electrically pumped TFLN lasers
have also been designed with heterogeneous [9] or hybrid [10], integrating III-V semiconductor
gain materials with TFLN photonic integrated circuits (PICs), structures. In particular, hybrid
integrated III-V/Si external cavity lasers have been demonstrated with single-mode and tunable
lasing wavelengths [11–13], indicating the feasibility of developing tunable optical transmitters
on TFLN platforms.
In this study, we demonstrated the first widely tunable optical transmitter realized by the
butt-coupling a TFLN intensity modulator with an electrically pumped TFLN/III-V tunable laser.
The laser exhibited a side-mode suppression ratio of >60 dB, a linewidth of 475 kHz, and a
wavelength-tuning range of over 40 nm. The TFLN modulator could process a voltage-length
product of 2.9 V·cm and an electro-optic response of 1.5 dB roll-off at 50 GHz. Further, data
transmission of 128 Gb/s OOK and 160 Gb/s PAM-4 signals without digital signal processing
was successfully demonstrated. The tunable optical transmitter developed in this study paves

#471402 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.471402
Journal © 2022 Received 26 Jul 2022; revised 4 Sep 2022; accepted 5 Sep 2022; published 13 Sep 2022
 Research Article Vol. 30, No. 20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35479

the way to high-performance fully integrated TFLN transmitters for next-generation 800 Gb/s
intensity modulation-direct detection and > 1.6 Tb/s coherent transmission systems.

2. Design of the TFLN/III-V transmitter and fabrication

Figure 1(a) presents a schematic of the widely tunable TFLN/III-V transmitter and cross sections
of different regions. The device consisted of a butt-coupled III-V reflective semiconductor optical
amplifier (RSOA) and a TFLN photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The on-chip laser included an
RSOA, a spot size converter (SSC), cascaded microring resonators (MRRs), and a broadband
distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). The dimension of the TFLN chip and RSOA was 1.2*0.4 cm
and 0.2*0.15 cm, respectively. So the dimension of the complete transmitter was approximately
1.4*0.4 cm.The RSOA (Thorlabs, SAF1144C) provided a 3-dB optical gain bandwidth of 37
nm when a current of 200 mA was injected. The front facet of the RSOA was coated with an
antireflection layer with a reflectivity of ≤ 0.01%, and its rear facet was covered with a partially
reflective layer with a reflectivity of 10%. The III-V waveguide at the coupling facet of the
RSOA was tilted by 8° to minimize the end-face reflectance [14–16]. An SSC with a bilayer
structure was designed to achieve an efficient light coupling between the RSOA and the TFLN
PIC. The simulated mode profiles of the SSC tip and RSOA gain chip are shown in Fig. 1(b)
and Fig. 1(c), respectively. A TFLN DBR was used as an on-chip reflector for the laser cavity.
The lasing wavelength was selected by leveraging the optical Vernier effect of the two cascading
thermos-tunable MRRs with slightly different free spectral ranges (FSRs). The output of the laser
was directly coupled to an MZM with a capacitance-loaded traveling-wave electrode featuring a
large electro-optic bandwidth [17]. Finally, the modulated optical signal was coupled to a lensed
fiber through an SSC.

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of the widely tunable TFLN/III-V transmitter. The simulated mode
profile of the SSC tip (b) and RSOA gain chip (c).
 Research Article Vol. 30, No. 20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35480

To achieve an efficient optical coupling between the TFLN PIC and the output of the RSOA
(an elliptic beam with a diameter of 4.07 µm × 1.91 µm), we designed a trident-waveguide SSC
(Fig. 2(a)). The widths of the SSC at the facet were w1 , w0 , and w1 , separated by a distance of
gap. To maximize the coupling efficiency, we first calculated the mode overlap with various w0
and gap values with a fixed w1 at an initial value of 0.3 µm. Figure 2(b) presents a maximum
overlap integral value of 0.88 at w0 = 0.2 µm and gap = 1.05 µm. Then, we swept w1 with a fixed
w0 and gap at the optimum values. Finally, the maximum overlap value was found to be 0.91
when w0 = 0.2 µm, gap = 1.05 µm, and w1 = 0.22 µm. To match the InP waveguide optical mode
and angle at the interface, based on the effective refractive index of the LN SSC, the titled angle
is 17.5° according to the Snell’s Law, as shown in Fig. 2(c).

Fig. 2. (a) Schematic of the SSC with a tilted angle θ. Simulated power coupling ratio,
neff , and θ for the SSC with an optimized combination of (b) w0 , gap, and (c) w1 . (d)
Simulated transmission spectra of the Vernier filter with a coupling coefficient κ = 0.3 (blue
curve) and the gain spectrum of the RSOA at 200 mA injection current (red curve). (e)
Simulated transmission spectrum of the Vernier filter showing Fabry–Pérot longitudinal
modes enveloped by the Vernier modes. SMSR: side-mode suppression ratio. (f) Simulated
and measured transmission spectra of a broadband DBR.

A Vernier filter composed of two cascaded MRRs was employed to achieve a single-mode and
tunable lasing wavelength. The circumferences of the two MRRs were designed such that the
overall FSR of the Vernier filter exceeded the gain bandwidth of the RSOA. The gain spectrum of
the RSOA was centered at 1325 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 37 nm at an injection current of 200
mA (Fig. 2(d)). The circumferences of the two MRRs were designed to be 589.5 and 602.05 µm,
 Research Article Vol. 30, No. 20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35481

respectively, resulting in an overall FSR of 61 nm, which ensured that there is only one lasing
wavelength in the gain spectrum. The power-coupling coefficients of the MRRs were designed
to be 0.3, resulting in an 11-fold length enhancement at the resonance [18]. The side-mode
suppression ratios for the Vernier filter and longitudinal mode were determined to be 3.4 and
6.2 dB, as shown in Fig. 2(e), respectively, which were sufficient for the single-mode lasing.
Further, the measured quality factor of the MRR was 81900. The DBR was integrated after the
Vernier filter to provide an optical feedback. A Gaussian apodization profile is employed to reduce
the sidelobe in the reflection spectrum of the DBR. The expression of the sidewall corrugations
width was referred our previous work [19]. Here, the measured DBR with a reflectivity of 85%
and a 3-dB bandwidth of 38 nm at 1330 nm as shown in Fig. 2(f).
The LN PICs were processed on a X-cut LNOI wafer with a 360-nm-thick LN device layer
and 4.7-µm-thick buried oxide layer. Firstly, the LNOI waveguide was defined by electron beam
lithography (EBL) and then the patterns were transferred into the LN layer by inductively coupled
plasma (ICP) etching. Afterwards, a SiO2 layer was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical
vapor deposition (PECVD). Subsequently, Ni-Cr micro-heaters and Au probe pad were deposited.
Then a SiO2 layer was deposited again. Finally, the facet of the LNOI chip was end-polished to
achieve an efficient edge coupling with the RSOA chip and lensed fiber.

Fig. 3. (a) A typical output spectrum obtained from the laser at 1328.3 nm with an
injection current of 200 mA. (b) Measured linewidth and the corresponding Voigt fitting
data for the proposed laser. (c) Experimental set-up for measuring the linewidth of lasers.
PC, polarization controller; AOM, acousto-optical modulator; OSA, optical spectrum
analyzer; PD, photodiode. (d) 31 channels tuning with ≈ 1.3 nm channel spacing. (e) The
corresponding lasing wavelength and heating power on MRR1/MRR2.
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3. Characterization of the TFLN/III-V tunable laser and modulator

The we evaluated the single-mode lasing performance of the widely tunable laser was first
evaluated. A directional coupler and a grating coupler were used to monitor the laser output. The
RSOA was mounted on a temperature-controlled XYZ precision alignment stage, and butt couped
with the TFLN chip. The best alignment between the two chips was achieved by maximizing
the light output power from the grating coupler. The coupling loss between the TFLN SSC and
RSOA was measured to be 3.5 dB, using TFLN waveguide with the identical SSC but without
DBR as the reference. The measured maximum optical power coupled to the grating coupler was
∼2 mW at 200mA, which can be much further improved by increasing the reflectively of the
rear facet of the RSOA chip. The maximum optical power measured after the Mach-Zehnder
interferometer was of ∼ 1.34 mW. The laser spectrum was analyzed using an optical spectrum
analyzer (Anritsu MS9740A) with a resolution of 0.07 nm. Figure 3(a) presents the emission
spectrum of the laser at 1328.3 nm, biased at 200 mA. A single-mode lasing with a side-mode
suppression ratio of >60 dB was achieved. The delayed self-heterodyne method [20] was used to
measure the linewidth of the hybrid laser with a 10.2-km-long SMF for delaying the optical beam,
as schematically shown in Fig. 3(c). The normalized linewidth and the corresponding Voigt
fitting data are presented in Fig. 3(b) with a linewidth of 475 kHz in the single-mode lasing state.
Next, the tunability of the lasers wre characterized. The resonances of the two MRRs were
thermally tuned using the fabricated NiCr microheaters [21]. The FSRs of MRR1 (1.30 nm) and
MRR2 (1.2725 nm) were slightly different. The transmittance reached a maximum value, when
the resonances of the two MRRs coincided, which determines the lasing wavelength of the hybrid
laser. Figure 3(d) shows an example of the superimposed spectra at various lasing wavelengths.
The injection current of the RSOA was set at 200 mA. Because the transmission spectra of the
two rings at different wavelengths are not perfectly alignment, so the laser output power varies at
different wavelengths. Figure.3(e) shows the lasing wavelength is linearly tuned by the heating
the MRR1. The responding wavelength tuning range and the laser tuning efficiency is 40.3 nm
and 0.48 nm/mW, respectively.
In Table 1, the performance metrics of the state-of-the-art TFLN/ III-V lasers were summarized.

Table 1. Comparison of several performance metrics of TFLN/ III-V lasers

Threshold Output
Integrated methods current (mA) power (mW) Tuning range(nm) SMSR (dB) Ref.
Flip-chip bonding ∼60 60 NA >50 [10]
Micro-transfer printing ∼85 0.77 1534-1555(21) >30 [9]
Butt-coupling 100 2.5 1304.5-1340.9(36.4) >60 [22]
Butt-coupling 80 3.7 1576-1596(20) >50 [19]

Fig. 4. Measured (a) Vπ and (b) electro-optic response of the 10-mm long TFLN modulator.
 Research Article Vol. 30, No. 20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35483

We then measured Vπ and the modulation bandwidth of the integrated TFLN MZM. The device
had 10-mm long capacitance-loaded travelling-wave electrodes terminated by an on-chip RF
terminator [23]. We first employed the 100 kHz triangular voltage sweep method to characterize
Vπ . As shown in Fig. 4(a), Vπ was measured to be 2.9 V (Fig. 4(a)). Furthermore, we measured
the modulation bandwidth using a vector network analyzer (Agilent N5227A) and a 50 GHz
photodiode (Finisar, XPDV2320R). The electro-optic response (S21 ) showed only a 1.5 dB roll-off
at 50 GHz (Fig. 4(b)).

4. Data transmission performance

We investigated the high-speed data-transmission performance of our transmitter using the setup
shown in Fig. 5(a). The RSOA was biased at 200 mA and 20 °C. The heating powers on MRR1
and MRR2 were 71.9 and 38.9 mW, respectively. The lasing wavelength was 1322.5 nm, and
the MZM was driven by an amplified electrical signal generated from an arbitrary waveform
generator (AWG, Keysight M8199A, with 256 GSa/s). The modulated optical signal was then
passed through a 1:9 coupler with a 10% arm sent to the power meter to measure the output
power, and the other arm was passed through another 1:99 coupler. A 1% arm was connected to
the optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) to monitor the spectrum. The output from the 99% arm was
amplified using a praselectro-opticdymium-doped fiber amplifier (Thorlabs) and passed through
a wide-bandwidth sampling oscilloscope (Agilent Technologies, DCA-X 86100D).

Fig. 5. (a) Experimental set-up for measuring the eye diagrams. Eye diagram of the OOK
signal at (b) 80 Gb/s and (d) 128 Gb/s, and that of the PAM-4 signal at (c) 64 Gbaud (128
Gb/s), and (e) 80 Gbaud (160 Gb/s).

Initially, OOK modulations were applied to the device, and the optical eye diagrams at 80
and 128 Gb/s are shown in Fig. 5(b) and 5(d), respectively. The measured dynamic extinction
ratios were 6.4 and 3.2 dB, respectively. Furthermore, the optical PAM-4 eye diagrams at 128
and 160 Gb/s were successfully obtained, as shown in Figs. 5(c) and 5(e), The measured dynamic
extinction ratios were 4 and 3.2 dB, respectively. For the 80 Gbaud (160 Gb/s) PAM-4 modulation
experiment as shown in Fig. 3(e), we can calculate an energy consumption of 29.6 fJ/bit. In
particular, we did not use additional digital signal-processing algorithms in the experiment to
improve the quality of the modulated signal. The high-speed modulation performance was
limited by the electronics used in the current setup.

5. Conclusion
In summary, we demonstrated the first hybrid integrated tunable TFLN/III-V transmitter. The
hybrid laser exhibited a greater than 60 dB side-mode suppression ratio along with a linewidth
of 475 kHz and wavelength-tuning range of over 40 nm. Moreover, the TFLN MZM could
process a Vπ of 2.9 V and an electro-optic response of 1.5 dB roll-off at 50 GHz. The transmitter
 Research Article Vol. 30, No. 20 / 26 Sep 2022 / Optics Express 35484

demonstrated a single-lane data rate of 160 Gb/s PAM-4 modulation. These results provide a
new route for the development of high-performance optical transmitters for future high-speed
and low-power-consumption optical links. The further hybrid integration of the III-V and TFLN
chips can be realize by the flip-chip bonding of RSOA and TFLN chips.
Funding. National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB1803900, 2019YFA0705000);
National Natural Science Foundation of China (62105381, 11690031, 11761131001); Opening funds from the State Key
Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies of China, Sun Yat-sen University (OEMT-2018-KF-04).
Disclosures. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to this article.
Data availability. The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon
reasonable request.

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