Patent Application
20230251509
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor light modulating apparatus in which a terminal matching circuit is connected in parallel to a semiconductor light modulator.
A directly modulated laser (DML) suitable for low-speed modulation has often been used in an access system that is an optical communication system between a relay station and a user. When high-speed communication at 10 Gb/s or higher is performed, an electro-absorption modulator integrated laser diode (EAM-LD) that is a semiconductor integrated device in which an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) suitable for high-speed modulation and a distributed-feedback laser are integrated is suitable.
A laser beam passing through the EAM is modulated by applying a signal that repeatedly switches on and off at a frequency at which light is to be modulated to the EAM. In high-speed communication, a high-frequency wave signal that is offset with DC voltage is applied. The high-frequency wave signal is a high-frequency wave at 10 GHz or higher, and thus a line such as a coaxial line based on consideration of high-frequency wave characteristics is used as a power supply line.
In a case of the EAM-LD, as the frequency of an input signal increases, impedance matching becomes impossible and band degradation occurs due to influence of the parasitic capacity and parasitic resistance of a semiconductor light modulator, the inductance of a bonding wire, and the like. Thus, impedance matching is performed by a terminal matching circuit connected in parallel to the semiconductor light modulator, thereby improving frequency characteristics (refer to PTL 1, for example).
[PTL 1] WO 2019/229825
However, with the conventional technology, it has been impossible to obtain favorable frequency characteristics while ensuring a desired band.
The present disclosure is intended to solve the above-described problem and obtain a semiconductor light modulating apparatus that can obtain favorable frequency characteristics while ensuring a desired band.
A semiconductor light modulating apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a semiconductor light modulator modulating light in accordance with a high-frequency wave signal; and a terminal matching circuit connected in parallel to the semiconductor light modulator, wherein the terminal matching circuit has a resistor and a capacitor of 0.1 pF or lower connected in parallel to the resistor.
In the present disclosure, the terminal matching circuit connected in parallel to the semiconductor light modulator bas a configuration in which the resistor and the capacitor of 0.1 pF or lower are connected in parallel to each other. With this configuration, gain variation can be reduced at a low frequency until a cutoff frequency is reached, and gain decrease and band degradation can be reduced at a higher frequency. As a result, it is possible to obtain favorable frequency characteristics while ensuring a desired band.
A semiconductor light modulating apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components will be denoted by the same symbols, and the repeated description thereof may be omitted.
An upper-surface electrode of the semiconductor light modulator 5 is connected to the signal conductor 2 through a bonding wire 6 and connected to the signal conductor 3 through a bonding wire 7. A resistor 8 is connected between the signal conductor 3 and the ground conductor 4. A minute capacitor 9 of 0.1 pF or lower is connected to the signal conductor 3 through a bonding wire 10.
Next, effects of the present embodiment will be described in comparison with a comparative example.
In
In
The capacitance value of the capacitor 9 is 0.14 pF in
In
It can be understood that, when the capacitance value of the capacitor 9 is set to 0.1 pF or higher, influence of inductance change on gain variation of 0 to 30 GHz is large and the inductance is preferably as low as possible. Thus, as typically known, the bonding wire 10 needs to be as short as possible. However, it can be understood that, as the capacitance value of the capacitor 9 is set to a lower value, influence of change of the inductance of the bonding wire 10 on gain variation of 0 to 30 GHz decreases while the improvement effect of frequency characteristics is maintained. The inductance of 0.166 to 1.078 nH corresponds to the bonding wire length of 0.3 to 1.2 mm. Thus, with the capacitor 9 having a capacitance value of 0.1 pF or lower, it is possible to increase the length of the bonding wire 10 connected to the capacitor 9 while maintaining the improvement effect of frequency characteristics. Note that flat frequency characteristics with smallest gain variation are obtained when the capacitor 9 and the inductance of the bonding wire 10 are set to 0.056 pF and 0.392 nH, respectively, in combination as illustrated in
As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal matching circuit 12 connected in parallel to the semiconductor light modulator 5 has a configuration in which the resistor 8 and the capacitor 9 of 0.1 pF or lower are connected in parallel to each other. With this configuration, gain variation can be reduced at a low frequency until a cutoff frequency is reached, and gain decrease and band degradation can be reduced at a higher frequency. As a result, it is possible to obtain favorable frequency characteristics while ensuring a desired band.
Moreover, when the capacitance value of the capacitor 9 is set to 0.1 pF or lower, the improvement effect of frequency characteristics is obtained without shortening the bonding wire 10 connected to the capacitor 9. Thus, it is possible to increase the freedom of structure designing of the semiconductor light modulating apparatus.
Note that the capacitance value of a capacitor having a structure that allows application as the capacitor 9 and sold as a product is 0.1 pF at minimum. However, a capacitance value tolerance (capacitance allowable tolerance) guaranteed in a catalog is 0.1 pF. Accordingly, the lower limit of the capacitance value of a commercially available capacitor is 0.1±0.1 pF to be exact. Thus, the capacitance value of 0.1 pF or lower is not reliably obtained with the commercially available capacitor.
The specific dielectric constant of the dielectric material of such a commercially available 0.1 pF capacitor is calculated to be 63.3. Thus, the specific dielectric constant of the dielectric material 13 of the capacitor 9 is set to 63.3 or lower. Accordingly, the dimension allowable tolerance of the dielectric material 13 can be relaxed with the same capacitance allowable tolerance. In addition, a capacitor of 0.1 pF or lower can be achieved in dimensions that allow mounting as the capacitor 9 on the semiconductor light modulating apparatus.
An aluminum nitride ceramic substrate having a specific dielectric constant of 8.8 can be applied as the dielectric material 13. Alternatively, an alumina ceramic substrate having a specific dielectric constant of 8.5 to 10 may be applied as the dielectric material 13. The capacitor 9 can be produced at low cost by using such a ceramic substrate having a simple structure. Moreover, since the dielectric constant is low, a capacitor of 0.1 pF or lower can be accurately mounted.
The capacitor 9 is formed by sandwiching the dielectric substrate 1, on which the semiconductor light modulator 5 is mounted, between a signal conductor 16 formed on the front surface of the dielectric substrate 1 and the ground conductor 4 formed on the back surface of the dielectric substrate 1. The capacitor 9 is connected to the resistor 8 through a signal conductor 17.
The signal conductor 16 included in the capacitor 9 can be integrated with the signal conductor 17 connecting the capacitor 9 and the resistor 8. Thus, the bonding wire 10 according to Embodiment 1 can be omitted. Moreover, the capacitance value of the capacitor 9 can be adjusted by adjusting the dimensions of the signal conductor 16.
In
In the present embodiment, the dielectric substrate 1 is made of a dielectric material having a specific dielectric constant equal to or smaller than 63.3. For example, an aluminum nitride ceramic substrate having a specific dielectric constant of 8.8 or an alumina ceramic substrate having a specific dielectric constant of 8.5 to 10 is applied as the dielectric material.
Various exemplary embodiments and examples have been described in the present application, but the various characteristics, aspects, and functions described in one or a plurality of embodiments are not limited to application of a particular embodiment but are applicable alone or in various combinations to an embodiment. Thus, numerous modifications not exemplarily described are assumed in the range of technologies disclosed in the specification of the present application. For example, such modifications include alteration, addition, or omission of at least one constituent component, and extraction of at least one constituent component and combination thereof with a constituent component of another embodiment.
1 dielectric substrate; 4 ground conductor; 5 semiconductor light modulator; 8 resistor; 9 capacitor; 10 bonding wire; 11 high-frequency wave signal; 12 terminal matching circuit; 13 dielectric material; 14,16 signal conductor; 15 ground conductor
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/045888 | 12/9/2020 | WO |
