Abstract

In this Letter, we demonstrate a highly linear silicon modulator based on the dual-series Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) architecture. The two sub-MZMs are biased at quadrature points of opposite polarities. A proper power-splitting ratio of the driving RF signal on the two sub-MZMs enables the suppression of the third order intermodulation distortion (IMD3). The spurious-free dynamic ranges (SFDRs) for IMD3 are $109.5/100.5\mathrm{dB}·{\mathrm{Hz}}^{2/3}$ at 1/10 GHz. In contrast, the reference single MZM on the same chip exhibits SFDRs of $95.2/86.8\mathrm{dB}·{\mathrm{Hz}}^{2/3}$ at 1/10 GHz at its optimal reverse bias voltage.

© 2019 Optical Society of America

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