Optical Modulator Module

Abstract

In a terminator, a midpoint electrode is provided between a first signal electrode and a second signal electrode, a first resistor is connected between the first signal electrode and the midpoint electrode, a second resistor is connected between the second signal electrode and the midpoint electrode, a first GND electrode is provided on a side opposite to the side where the first resistor is provided with the first signal electrode interposed therebetween, a second GND electrode is provided on the side opposite to the side where the second resistor is provided with the second signal electrode interposed therebetween, and capacitances in the terminator are formed between the first signal electrode and the midpoint electrode, between the second signal electrode and the midpoint electrode, between the first signal electrode and the first GND electrode, and between the second signal electrode and the second GND electrode.

Claims

1.-5. (canceled)

6. An optical modulator module for modulating an optical signal with an electrical signal, the module comprising: a Mach-Zehnder modulator chip including an electrode pair as an electrical signal transmission line and an optical waveguide as an optical signal waveguide; a driver IC electrically connected to a first end portion of the electrode pair; and a terminator electrically connected to a second end portion of the electrode pair, wherein the terminator comprises: a substrate; a first signal electrode on the substrate and connected to a first electrode of the electrode pair; a second signal electrode on the substrate and connected to a second electrode of the electrode pair; a midpoint electrode on the substrate between the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode; a first resistor on the substrate and connected between the first signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; a second resistor on the substrate and connected between the second signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; a first GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the first resistor with the first signal electrode interposed therebetween; and a second GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the second resistor with the second signal electrode interposed therebetween.

7. The optical modulator module according to claim 6, wherein when an arrangement direction of the first signal electrode, the second signal electrode, and the midpoint electrode is a width direction, the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode include a combination of a first electrode portion and a second electrode portion connected in a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and a width of the first electrode portion is narrower than a width of the second electrode portion.

8. The optical modulator module according to claim 7, wherein: the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip includes a plurality of the electrode pairs having different lengths; the terminator includes the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair; and in the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair, as a length of the electrode pair connected to the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode becomes longer, a number of combinations of the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion increases.

9. The optical modulator module according to claim 7, wherein a center position of the first electrode portion in the width direction is closer to the midpoint electrode than a center position of the second electrode portion in the width direction.

10. The optical modulator module according to claim 9, wherein: the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip includes a plurality of the electrode pairs having different lengths; the terminator includes the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair; and in the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair, as a length of the electrode pair connected to the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode becomes longer, a number of combinations of the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion increases.

11. The optical modulator module according to claim 10, wherein the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode are structured such that a shape of each electrode is adjustable.

12. The optical modulator module according to claim 6, wherein the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode are structured such that a shape of each electrode is adjustable.

13. A terminator for inclusion in an optical modulator module for modulating an optical signal with an electrical signal, the terminator comprising: a substrate; a first signal electrode on the substrate and configured to be connected to a first electrode of an electrode pair of a Mach-Zehnder modulator chip; a second signal electrode on the substrate and configured to be connected to a second electrode of the electrode pair of the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip; a midpoint electrode on the substrate between the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode; a first resistor on the substrate and connected between the first signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; a second resistor on the substrate and connected between the second signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; a first GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the first resistor with the first signal electrode interposed therebetween; and a second GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the second resistor with the second signal electrode interposed therebetween.

14. The terminator according to claim 13, wherein when an arrangement direction of the first signal electrode, the second signal electrode, and the midpoint electrode is a width direction, the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode include a combination of a first electrode portion and a second electrode portion connected in a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and a width of the first electrode portion is narrower than a width of the second electrode portion.

15. The terminator according to claim 14, wherein a center position of the first electrode portion in the width direction is closer to the midpoint electrode than a center position of the second electrode portion in the width direction.

16. The terminator according to claim 13, wherein the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode are structured such that a shape of each electrode of the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip is configured to be adjustable.

17. A method for providing an optical modulator module for modulating an optical signal with an electrical signal, the method comprising: providing a Mach-Zehnder modulator chip including an electrode pair serving as an electrical signal transmission line and an optical waveguide serving as an optical signal waveguide; electrically connecting a driver IC to a first end portion of the electrode pair; and providing a terminator electrically connected to a second end portion of the electrode pair, wherein providing the terminator comprises: providing a substrate; providing a first signal electrode on the substrate and connected to a first electrode of the electrode pair; providing a second signal electrode on the substrate and connected to a second electrode of the electrode pair; providing a midpoint electrode on the substrate between the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode; providing a first resistor on the substrate and connected between the first signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; providing a second resistor on the substrate and connected between the second signal electrode and the midpoint electrode; providing a first GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the first resistor with the first signal electrode interposed therebetween; and providing a second GND electrode on the substrate on a side opposite the second resistor with the second signal electrode interposed therebetween.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein when an arrangement direction of the first signal electrode, the second signal electrode, and the midpoint electrode is a width direction, the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode include a combination of a first electrode portion and a second electrode portion connected in a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and a width of the first electrode portion is narrower than a width of the second electrode portion.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip includes a plurality of the electrode pairs having different lengths; the terminator includes the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair; and in the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair, as a length of the electrode pair connected to the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode becomes longer, a number of combinations of the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion increases.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein a center position of the first electrode portion in the width direction is closer to the midpoint electrode than a center position of the second electrode portion in the width direction.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: the Mach-Zehnder modulator chip includes a plurality of the electrode pairs having different lengths; the terminator includes the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair; and in the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode provided for each electrode pair, as a length of the electrode pair connected to the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode becomes longer, a number of combinations of the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion increases.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising structuring the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode such that a shape of each electrode is adjustable.

23. The method according to claim 17, further comprising structuring the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode such that a shape of each electrode is adjustable.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of an optical modulator module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a terminator in the optical modulator module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying parameters of a signal electrode having one combination of a narrow electrode portion and a wide electrode portion in the terminator.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying parameters of a signal electrode having two combinations of a narrow electrode portion and a wide electrode portion in the terminator.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a result of estimating E/O response characteristics (module characteristics) by simulation.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state before adjustment of the shape of the signal electrode in the terminator.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state after adjustment of the shape of the signal electrode in the terminator.

[0030] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a main part of a conventional optical modulator module.

[0031] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a terminator in a conventional optical modulator module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a main part of an optical modulator module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, the same components as those described with reference to FIG. 8 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] In the optical modulator module 100, instead of a terminator 30 in a conventional optical modulator module 200 shown in FIG. 8, a terminator 40 having an electrode pattern designed to have an optimum capacitance and inductor is provided so that the characteristics match even in a high frequency region of 10 GHz or higher.

[0035] As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, the terminator 40 includes signal electrodes 41-1 to 41-4, midpoint electrodes 42-1 and 42-2, and GND electrodes 43-1 to 43-3, and resistors (thin film resistors) 44-1 to 44-4 provided on a substrate 45.

[0036] In FIG. 2, an X direction (an arrangement direction of each electrode) is a width direction of each electrode, and a Y direction (a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of each electrode) is a length direction of each electrode. In addition, the signal electrodes 41-1 to 41-4, the midpoint electrodes 42-1 and 42-2, and the GND electrodes 43-1 to 43-3 are made of gold, aluminum, or the like, and the resistors 44-1 to 44-4 are made of tantalum nitride, chromium, or the like.

[0037] In this terminator 40, the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 are electrically connected to end portions on the outlet side of the electrodes 11-1 and 11-2 of the traveling wave type electrode pair 11 in the MZ modulator chip 10 by wires, and the signal electrodes 41-3 and 41-4 are electrically connected to the end portions on the outlet side of the electrodes 12-1 and 12-2 of the traveling wave type electrode pair 12 in the MZ modulator chip 10 by wires.

[0038] Further, in the terminator 40, the midpoint electrode 42-1 is formed of a combination of a lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-1a and an upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-1b which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and the width of the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-1a is narrower than the width of the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-1b.

[0039] In addition, the signal electrode 41-1 is formed of a combination of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-1a and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-1b which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and the width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-1a is narrower than the width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-1b.

[0040] Similarly to the signal electrode 41-1, the signal electrode 41-2 is also formed of a combination of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-2a and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-2b which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and the width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-2a is narrower than the width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-2b.

[0041] The midpoint electrode 42-1 is provided between the signal electrode 41-1 and the signal electrode 41-2 so as to satisfy the requirements described below. A first requirement is that the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-1a (narrow midpoint electrode portion) is positioned between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-1b (wide signal electrode portion) of the signal electrode 41-1 and the lower side signal electrode portion 41-2b (wide signal electrode portion) of the signal electrode 41-2. A second requirement is that the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-1b (wide midpoint electrode portion) is positioned between the upper side signal electrode portion 41-1a (narrow signal electrode portion) of the signal electrode 41-1 and the upper side signal electrode portion 41-2a (narrow signal electrode portion) of the signal electrode 41-2.

[0042] Further, in the terminator 40, the midpoint electrode 42-2 is formed of a combination of a first set of a lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2a and an upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2b which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and a combination of a second set of a lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2c and an upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2d which have a rectangular hasped and are connected in the Y direction similarly. The width of the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2a of the first set is equal to the width of the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2c of the second set. The width of the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2b of the first set is equal to the width of the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2d of the second set. The width of the lower side midpoint electrode portions 42-2a and 42-2c is narrower than the width of the upper side midpoint electrode portions 42-2b and 42-2d.

[0043] In addition, the signal electrode 41-3 is formed of a combination of a first set of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-3a and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-3b, which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and a combination of a second set of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-3c and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-3d which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction similarly. The width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-3a of the first set is equal to the width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-3c of the second set. The width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-3b, of the first set is equal to the width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-3d of the second set. The width of the upper side signal electrode portions 41-3a and 41-3c is narrower than the width of the lower side signal electrode portions 41-3b, and 41-3d.

[0044] Similarly to the signal electrode 41-3, the signal electrode 41-4 is formed of a combination of a first set of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-4a and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-4b which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction, and a combination of a second set of an upper side signal electrode portion 41-4c and a lower side signal electrode portion 41-4d which have a rectangular shape and are connected in the Y direction similarly. The width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-4a of the first set is equal to the width of the upper side signal electrode portion 41-4c of the second set. The width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-4b of the first set is equal to the width of the lower side signal electrode portion 41-4d of the second set. The width of the upper side signal electrode portions 41-4a and 41-4c is narrower than the width of the lower side signal electrode portions 41-4b and 41-4d.

[0045] The midpoint electrode 42-2 is provided between the signal electrode 41-3 and the signal electrode 41-4 so as to satisfy the requirements described below. A first requirement is that the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2a (narrow midpoint electrode portion) of the first set is positioned between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-3d (wide signal electrode portion) of the second set of the signal electrode 41-3 and the lower side signal electrode portion 41-4d (wide signal electrode portion) of the second set of the signal electrode 41-4. A second requirement is that the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2b (wide midpoint electrode portion) of the first set is positioned between the upper side signal electrode portion 41-3c (narrow signal electrode portion) of the second set of the signal electrode 41-3 and the upper side signal electrode portion 41-4c (narrow signal electrode portion) of the second set of the signal electrode 41-4. A third requirement is that the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2c (narrow midpoint electrode portion) of the second set is positioned between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-3b (wide signal electrode portion) of the first set of the signal electrode 41-3 and the lower side signal electrode portion 41-4b (wide signal electrode portion) of the first set of the signal electrode 41-4. A fourth requirement is that the upper side midpoint electrode portion 42-2d (wide midpoint electrode portion) of the second set is positioned between the upper side signal electrode portion 41-3a (narrow signal electrode portion) of the first set of the signal electrode 41-3 and the upper side signal electrode portion 41-4a (narrow signal electrode portion) of the first set of the signal electrode 41-4.

[0046] In addition, in the terminator 40, the resistors 44-1 to 44-4 have the same resistance value. Here, each of the resistors is connected to the electrode as described below. The resistor 44-1 is connected between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-1b of the signal electrode 41-1 and the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-1a of the midpoint electrode 42-1. The resistor 44-2 is connected between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-2b of the signal electrode 41-2 and the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-1a of the midpoint electrode 42-1. The resistor 44-3 is connected between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-3d of the second set of the signal electrode 41-3 and the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2a of the first set of the midpoint electrode 42-2. The resistor 44-4 is connected between the lower side signal electrode portion 41-4d of the second set of the signal electrode 41-4 and the lower side midpoint electrode portion 42-2a of the first set of the midpoint electrode 42-2.

[0047] In addition, the GND electrode 43-1 is provided on a side opposite to the side on which the resistor 44-1 is provided with the signal electrode 41-1 interposed therebetween. The GND electrode 43-2 is provided between the signal electrode 41-2 and the signal electrode 41-3 (a side opposite to the side on which the resistors 44-2 and 44-3 are respectively provided with the signal electrodes 41-2 and 41-3 interposed therebetween). The GND electrode 43-3 is provided on a side opposite to the side on which the resistor 44-4 is provided with the signal electrode 41-4 interposed therebetween.

[0048] In the optical modulator module 100, the driver IC 20 is an open collector type driver IC and a difference in height of the upper surfaces of the MZ modulator chip 10, the driver IC 20 and the terminator 40 is within ±0.1 mm. This is because since the maximum distance between the wire start point connected to the signal electrodes 41-1 to 41-4 on the terminator 4o and the wire end point connected to the electrode pairs 11 and 12 on the MZ modulator chip 10 may be about 280 μm due to the mounting performance of a mounting machine, the height has to be within ±0.1 mm in order to set the wire length to 300 μm or less.

[0049] In the optical modulator module 100, capacitances are formed between the signal electrode 41-1 and the midpoint electrode 42-1, between the signal electrode 41-2 and the midpoint electrode 42-1, between the signal electrode 41-1 and the GND electrode 43-1, and between the signal electrode 41-2 and the GND electrode 43-2. In addition, capacitances are formed between the signal electrode 41-3 and the midpoint electrode 42-2, between the signal electrode 41-4 and the midpoint electrode 42-2, between the signal electrode 41-3 and the GND electrode 43-2, and between the signal electrode 41-4 and the GND electrode 43-3. Accordingly, the number of capacitance components in the terminator 40 is increased and thus reflection at the terminator 40 can be suppressed.

[0050] In addition, in the optical modulator module 100, the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 are formed of one combination of a narrow signal electrode portion (41-1a, 41-2a) and a wide signal electrode portion (41-1b, 41-2b). In the optical modulator module 100, the signal electrodes 41-3 and 41-4 are formed of two combinations of a narrow signal electrode portion (41-3a, 41-4a, 41-3c, 41-4c) and a wide signal electrode portion (41-3b, 41-4b, 41-3d, 41-4d). With such a structure, the capacity can be efficiently increased in a small terminator. That is, as the number of combinations of a narrow signal electrode portion and a wide signal electrode portion increases, the outer circumference of the signal electrode becomes longer. Thus, the number of capacitance components in the terminator is further increased.

[0051] In the optical modulator module 100 according to the embodiment, the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 to be connected to the traveling wave type electrode pair 11 (the electrode pair whose transmission line is short) in the MZ modulator chip 10 are formed of one combination of a narrow signal electrode portion and a wide signal electrode portion. In the optical modulator module 100 according to the embodiment, the signal electrodes 41-3 and 41-4 to be connected to the traveling wave type electrode pair 12 (the electrode pair whose transmission line is long) in the MZ modulator chip 10 are formed of two combinations of a narrow signal electrode portion and a wide signal electrode portion. In this manner, as length of the transmission line of the traveling wave type electrode pair in the modulator chip 10 becomes longer, the number of combinations of a narrow signal electrode portion and a wide signal electrode portion in the signal electrodes to be connected to the traveling wave type electrode pair is increased. Thus, reflection can be suppressed even in a high frequency region of 10 GHz or more.

[0052] In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the parameters of the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 in the terminator 40 are defined as a, b, w, W, H, and h, a=90 μm, b=80 μm, w=50 μm, W=220 μm, H=250 μm, and h=80 μm.

[0053] In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, when the parameters of the signal electrodes 41-3 and 41-4 in the terminator 40 are defined as a, b, w, W, H1, h1, H2, and h2, a=90 μm, b=80 μm, w=50 μm, W=220 μm, H2=50 μm, h1=140 μm, H2=140 μm, and h2=110 μm.

[0054] By setting a>b, that is, by setting a center position Pi of the narrow signal electrode portion in the width direction to be closer to the midpoint electrode side than a center position P2 of the wide signal electrode portion in the width direction, the effective capacitance can be increased without changing the size of the terminator (without increasing the size of the terminator). In addition, since the effective capacitance can be increased, the size reduction of the terminator can be achieved.

[0055] In FIG. 5, for the optical modulator module 200 (present application) according to the embodiment and the conventional optical modulator module 100 (conventional) shown in FIG. 8, the results of estimating the E/O response characteristics (module characteristics) by simulation are shown. In the drawing, I represents the module characteristics of the present embodiment, and II represents the conventional module characteristics. As can be seen from the drawing, it is found that compared to the conventional module characteristics II, the module characteristics I of the present embodiment show that the ripple in the E/O response is suppressed as a result of the suppression of the reflection at the termination resistance.

[0056] From the result, it is shown that the optical modulator module 100 using the terminator 40 according to the embodiment is effective in suppressing the ripple in the E/O response characteristics since the reflection characteristics can be sufficiently suppressed.

[0057] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the signal electrodes 41-1 to 41-4 are structured so that the shape of the electrodes can be adjusted. For example, in a case where the length of the upper side signal electrode portions 41-1a and 41-2a of the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 before adjustment is h =100 um (refer to FIG. 6), by trimming the length of the upper side signal electrode portions 41-1a and 41-2a of the signal electrodes 41-1 and 41-2 based on the measurement results of the reflection characteristics of the MZ modulator chip 10 (refer to FIG. 7), the length of the upper side signal electrode portions 41-1a and 41-2a can be adjusted to, for example, h=50 μm.

[0058] The reflection characteristics were measured before adjusting the shape of the signal electrode (FIG. 6) and after adjusting the shape of the signal electrode (FIG. 7). As a result, in the frequency region up to 30 GHz, the optical modulator module 100 using the terminator 40 before adjustment had a maximum reflection response value of −10 dB. In contrast, in the optical modulator module 100 using the terminator 40 after adjustment, the maximum value was −11.5 dB. From the result, it was shown that the adjustment of the shape of the signal electrode was effective in improving the reflection characteristics.

Expansion of Embodiments

[0059] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configurations and the details of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0060] 10 MZ modulator chip

[0061] 11, 12 Traveling wave type electrode pair

[0062] 11-1, 11-2, 12-1, 12-2 Electrode

[0063] 13-1 to 13-3 GND electrode

[0064] 14, 15, 16 Optical waveguide

[0065] 20 Driver IC

[0066] 40 Terminator

[0067] 41-1 to 41-4 Signal electrode

[0068] 41-1a, 41-2a, 41-3a, 41-4a, 41-3c, 41-4c Upper side signal electrode portion (narrow signal electrode portion)

[0069] 41-1b, 41-2b, 41-3b, 41-4b, 41-3d, 41-4d Lower side signal electrode (wide signal electrode portion)

[0070] 42-1, 42-2 Midpoint electrode

[0071] 43-1 to 43-3 GND electrode

[0072] 44-1 to 44-4 Resistor

[0073] 45 Substrate

[0074] 100 Optical modulator module