A silicon photonics-based optical modulator is disclosed. The optical modulator includes first radio frequency (RF) metal electrodes that operate as a ground, phase shifters disposed between the first RF metal electrodes for optically modulating an optical signal transmitted along an optical waveguide, second RF metal electrodes disposed between the phase shifters for providing an RF electrical signal received from a driving driver located outside of the optical modulator through one end, resistor-inductors (RL) connected to another end of the second RF metal electrodes, an inductive line disposed between the RLs and a power supply for applying a bias voltage to the optical modulator and the driving driver, and a silicon capacitor disposed between the RLs and the power supply for preventing a degradation of an RF response characteristic of the silicon photonics-based optical modulator caused by the inductive line.

A bias control method of a nested optical modulator includes detecting a frequency component that has a frequency equal to a frequency of a dither signal and that is included in an output of the optical modulator, with changing a voltage value of a first bias, to measure a first error-detection value, obtaining a first error-detection curve representing a relationship between the first error-detection value and the voltage of the first bias, obtaining a first correction value based on the first error-detection curve, and obtaining the first error-detection value obtained when the first bias voltage value is equal to a voltage value obtained by adding the first correction value to the first bias voltage value at a zero-crossing point of the first error-detection curve, as a first error control value. The first bias is controlled so that the first error-detection value is the first error control value.

An electro-optic modulator is disposed on a surface of a substrate including: an optical waveguide layer disposed on the substrate, a modulation electrode disposed on the optical waveguide layer, and a metal electrode disposed on the modulation electrode and electrically connected to the modulation electrode. A first end of the metal electrode is coupled to a radio frequency driver, and receives a modulation signal input by the radio frequency driver. The modulation electrode is configured to perform electro-optic modulation on the optical waveguide layer based on the modulation signal. A second end of the metal electrode is coupled to a direct-current voltage end, and the direct-current voltage end is configured to input a voltage signal and provide a bias voltage for the radio frequency driver by using the metal electrode. This reduces costs and a size of the electro-optic modulator, and is conducive to device miniaturization.

Provided is an optical control element that can minimize an optical path difference between branched waveguides while reducing a difference in structure between the branched waveguides by disposing an input portion and an output portion of an optical waveguide on the same side of a substrate on which the optical waveguide is formed. An optical control element includes a substrate 1 having an electro-optic effect, an optical waveguide 2 formed on the substrate, and a control electrode controlling a light wave propagating through the optical waveguide, in which an input portion (input light L1) and an output portion (output light L2) of the optical waveguide are formed on the same side of the substrate, the optical waveguide includes at least one Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguide portion (MZ) that has two branched waveguides (21, 22) branched from one optical waveguide and combines the two branched waveguides to form one optical waveguide, and the branched waveguides have an even number of turned-back potions (A1, A2).

Driving an optical modulator is described. A control circuit generates first and second input voltages based on a target phase modulation between first and second optical waveguide arms of the optical modulator. An offset control circuit generates first and second offset signals. A linear modulator driver receives the first and second offset signals, generates a first output voltage for biasing the first optical waveguide arm using the first offset signal, and generates a second output voltage for biasing the second optical waveguide arm using the second offset signal. Feedback circuitry can feed the first and second output voltages to the offset control circuit, which can generate the first and second offset signals using the first and second output voltages. The output voltages bias the waveguide arms so the optical modulator operates close to the target phase modulation, even in the presence of manufacturing errors.

An optical transmitter includes: a mapper that generates an electric field information signal from transmission data; a phase rotation circuit that adds a phase rotation to the electric field information signal; a driver that generates a driving signal from the electric field information signal to which the phase rotation is added; a modulator that generates a modulated optical signal according to the driving signal; and a controller that controls a bias of the modulator according to a change in a carrier frequency of the modulated optical signal corresponding to the phase rotation that is added to the electric field information signal by the phase rotation circuit.

Methods and apparatus for controlling a bias voltage (20) supplied to an optical modulator that comprises a biasable component configurable to be biased by application of the bias voltage (20), the method comprising: providing a target for the modulator output power; applying, to the biasable component, a bias voltage (20) that biases the biasable component so that the output power is within a pre-defined range of the target; monitoring the output power and, if the output power of the modulator is determined to be outside the pre-defined range, varying the value of the bias voltage (20) to bring the output power back within the pre-defined range; and monitoring the optical input to the modulator and, if it has been disabled, maintaining the bias voltage (20) at its current level for a pre-determined length of time that is dependent upon how long the modulator has been operating at quadrature.

A Dual Parallel (DP)-Inphase/Quadrature (I/Q) Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) bias controller configured to generate a pair of orthogonal dither signals; multiply the pair of dither signals to create a second order orthogonal dither signal; and lock an Inphase (I) I MZM of a DP-I/Q MZM to a value of a corresponding I component of a transmission signal by applying the pair of orthogonal dither signal to a Quadrature (Q) MZM and a Phase (P) MZM of the DP-I/Q MZM; applying an I bias signal to the I MZM of the DP-I/Q MZM; detecting an output of the DP-I/Q MZM; and determining an I error signal in the output of the I MZM of the DP-I/Q MZM based on the product of second order dither signal and the output of the DP-I/Q MZM.

An optical transmitter includes an optical modulator configured to modulate input light and output a light signal, a drive unit configured to output a modulation data signal to the optical modulator, and a bias controller configured to perform feedback control of bias voltage applied to the optical modulator. During a modulation OFF operation of the optical modulator, the bias controller switches a control target point from a first control target point to a second control target point and executes the feedback control.

The present invention relates to telecommunication techniques and integrated circuit (IC) devices. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide an off-quadrature modulation system. Once an off-quadrature modulation position is determined, a ratio between DC power transfer amplitude and dither tone amplitude for a modulator is as a control loop target to stabilize off-quadrature modulation. DC power transfer amplitude is obtained by measuring and sampling the output of an optical modulator. Dither tone amplitude is obtained by measuring and sampling the modulator output and performing calculation using the optical modulator output values and corresponding dither tone values. There are other embodiments as well.