Experimental demonstration of microring quadrature phase-shift keying modulators

Advanced optical modulation formats are a key technology to increase the capacity of optical communication networks. Mach-Zehnder modulators are typically used to generate various modulation formats. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation using compact microring modulators. Generation of 20 Gb/s QPSK signals is demonstrated with 30 μm radius silicon ring modulators with drive voltages of ~6 V. These compact QPSK modulators may be used in miniature optical transponders for high-capacity optical data links.