Author(s): Zou, F (Zou, Fang); Zou, L (Zou, Lei); Tian, Y (Tian, Ye); Zhang, YM (Zhang, Yiming); Bente, E (Bente, Erwin); Hou, WG (Hou, Weigang); Liu, Y (Liu, Yu); Chen, SM (Chen, Siming); Cao, V (Cao, Victoria); Guo, L (Guo, Lei); Li, SS (Li, Songsui); Yan, LS (Yan, Lianshan); Pan, W (Pan, Wei); Milosevic, D (Milosevic, Dusan); Cao, ZZ (Cao, Zizheng); Koonen, AMJ (Koonen, Antonius M. J.); Liu, HY (Liu, Huiyun); Zou, XH (Zou, Xihua)

Source: LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWSVolume: 17Issue: 4  Article Number: 2200577  DOI: 10.1002/lpor.202200577  Published: APR 2023

Abstract: Electro-optic (EO) modulation is a well-known and essential topic in the field of communications and sensing, while ultrahigh modulation efficiency is unprecedentedly desired in the current green and data era. However, dramatically increasing the modulation efficiency is difficult in conventional mechanisms, being intrinsically limited by the monotonic mapping relationship between the electrical driving signal and modulated optical signal. To break this bottleneck, a new mechanism termed phase-transition EO modulation is revealed from the reciprocal transition between two distinct phase planes arising from the Hopf bifurcation, being driven by a transient electrical signal to cross the critical point. A monolithically integrated mode-locked laser is implemented as a prototype, strikingly achieving an ultrahigh modulation energy efficiency of 3.06 fJ bit(-1) improved by about four orders of magnitude and a contrast ratio exceeding 50 dB. The prototype is experimentally implemented for radio-over-fiber communication and acoustic sensing. This work indicates a significant advance on the state-of-the-art EO modulation technology and opens a new avenue for green communication and ubiquitous sensing applications.

Accession Number: WOS:001163098500017

Author Identifiers:

AuthorWeb of Science ResearcherID     ORCID Number

CHEN, WENJIE JQW-1608-2023 

Yang, Min JPY-3791-2023   

chen, yan JRY-4645-2023   

Zhang, Chi JSK-0744-2023   

luo, yuan JLS-6416-2023   

Li, Fan JRY-4017-2023   

Chen, zhuo JWO-5404-2024

Li, Guo JNR-1700-2023  

LIU, YUTING JUV-1285-2023 

zhang, zheng KBQ-7815-2024   

jin, chen KBQ-8592-2024  

Chen, Siming AAK-1874-2020   0000-0002-2690-3588

xiao, wei KCK-6954-2024  

zhao, lin JPK-8436-2023   

Zou, Xihua AAL-9543-2020  0000-0002-7240-4229

FENG, X JPL-4188-2023

li, jincheng GQP-6856-2022 

yang, zhuo JPK-3133-2023   

Zhou, Yue JHS-8791-2023   

ISSN: 1863-8880

eISSN: 1863-8899