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We demonstrate a 222 GBd on-off-keying transmitter in a short-reach intra-datacenter scenario with direct detection after 120 m of standard single mode fiber. The system operates at net-data rates of >200 Gb/s OOK for transmission distances of a few meters, and >177 Gb/s over 120 m, limited by chromatic dispersion in the standard single mode fiber. The high symbol rate transmitter is enabled by a high-bandwidth plasmonic-organic hybrid Mach–Zehnder modulator on the silicon photonic platform that is ribbon-bonded to an InP DHBT 2:1 digital multiplexing selector. Requiring no driving RF amplifiers, the selector directly drives the modulator with a differential output voltage of 622 mVpp measured across a 50 Ω resistor. The transmitter assembly occupies a footprint of less than 1.5 mm × 2.1 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A most compact all-metallic high-speed in-phase and quadrature modulator with a 36 μm fiber-to-fiber pitch operating at 200 Gbit/s is introduced. All components of the modulator are made of metal: The vertical crating couplers, the waveguides, polarization rotators, splitters, and phase shifters. As the modulator relies on substrate-independent processes, it can basically be put down on any smooth layer. The modulator is interconnected to a multicore fiber for optical input and output coupling. We demonstrate 100 GBd signal modulation with a quadrature phase-shift keying modulation format and a bit-error ratio below the hard-decision forward error correction. The metallic modulator shows the potential of plasmonics in offering highest speed and advanced modulations on a smallest possible footprint. The simple fabrication makes it attractive for low-cost applications such as short-haul and data-center networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new plasmonic transmitter solution offering 0.8 Tbit/s on an ultra-compact 90 µm × 5.5 µm footprint is introduced. It comprises a densely arranged four-channel plasmonic phase modulator array that directly interconnects an optical fiber array. Each plasmonic modulator features high-index grating couplers—for direct and efficient conversion from a fiber mode to a plasmonic slot mode and vice versa—and a plasmonic waveguide—for efficient high-speed modulation. The individual devices achieve data rates of 200 Gbit/s with a symbol rate of 100 GBd. Electrical and optical crosstalk between neighboring modulators were found to have no significant influence on the data modulation experiment. The modulator array has been tested in a 100 GBd experiment with signals at a single wavelength (mimicking a space division multiplexing scheme) and at different wavelengths (mimicking a wavelength division multiplexing experiment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementing plasmonic slot waveguides with highly nonlinear organic materials has rendered a new generation of ultracompact active nanophotonic components that are redefining the state of the art. In this paper, we review the fundamentals of this so-called plasmonic–organic–hybrid (POH) platform. Starting from simple phase shifters to the most compact $IQ$ modulators, we introduce key devices of high-speed data communications. For instance, all-plasmonic Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZMs) are reviewed and long-term prospects are discussed. This kind of modulator already features unique properties such as a small footprint ( <$ 20 \mu$m ), a large electro–optic bandwidth ( >$ 110 GHz), a small energy consumption ( \sim$25 fJ/b), a large extinction ratio ( >$ 25 dB) in combination with a record small voltage-length product of 40 V \mu$ m. Finally, as an example for seamless integration we introduce novel plasmonic . This demonstration ultimately shows how plasmonics can be used to control both phase and amplitude of an optical carrier on the microscale with reasonably low losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]