100-GBd Waveguide Bragg Grating Modulator in Thin-Film Lithium Niobate

An integrated electro-optic modulator based on a waveguide Bragg grating in thin-film lithium niobate is introduced. The compact device with a footprint of 10 × 400 μm2 displays an optical extinction ratio of 53.8 dB at a wavelength of 1555.9 nm in the C-band. With a simple intensity modulation and direct detection scheme, data rates up to 100 Gbit/s are demonstrated with 2-, 4- and 8-level pulse-amplitude modulation formats. The optical filter characteristic of a waveguide Bragg grating modulator suppresses one optical sideband, resulting in inherent single sideband modulation. This enables transmission of a 100 Gbit/s on-off keying signal over 12 km of standard single-mode fiber at 1559.05 nm, without the need for chromatic dispersion compensation.