Operating point bias compensation method for the Mach-Zehnder modulator with thermistors circuit

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Abstract

Mach-Zehnder microwave modulators on bulk or thin film lithium niobate are key components in data transmission networks, including quantum communications. However, the problem of operating point drift is still significant. A lot of methods for DC bias compensation for different technical tasks have been demonstrated. In this paper, we propose analog electrical scheme for thermal DC bias compensation using a thermistor system. We demonstrate the tuning of the electrical scheme for the operating point bias from temperature, and then experimentally confirm the effectiveness of this method by obtaining the maximum deviation from the mean optical power no more than 1.0 dB or 1.0 V applied DC voltage at temperature up to 45 °C. The proposed approach does not require any additional power supply for adjustment and can be used for special tasks in remote locations.

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About the authors

Arseny Y. Kireev

Perm Scientific Industrial Instrument-Making Company

Author for correspondence.
Email: Kireev@pnppk.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0002-6792-7823

Research Engineer

Russian Federation, Perm

Anton A. Zhuravlev

Perm Scientific Industrial Instrument-Making Company

Email: aaz@pnppk.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2270-6314

Cand. of Sc. (Tech.), head of scientific-research institute of photonics and optoelectronics

Russian Federation, Perm

Aleksei V. Sosunov

Perm State University

Email: avsosunov@psu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5760-1523

Cand. of Sc.(Tech.), Senior Researcher

Russian Federation, Perm

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Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
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2. Fig. 1. MZ-modulator scheme

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3. Fig. 2. Experimental scheme: 1 – laser 1550 nm Koheras BASIK X15 NKT Photonics, 2 – polarization control Stackable Three Paddle Type Polarization Controller KSPhotonics, 3 – driver of DC bias (thermistor circuit), 4 – power supply GW Instek GPP-72323, 5 – multimeter, 6 – optical power meter FOD-1204, 7 – MZ-modulator, 8 – climate chamber Espec MC-712R.

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4. Fig. 3. Transfer function

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5. Fig. 4. Experimental and theoretical results of maintaining the operating point at the quadrature point (a) and the electrical circuit of the thermistors, which was used for theoretical calculations and then in temperature tests (b).

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6. Fig. 5. The output optical power bias of the MZ-modulator (a) and linear increase in voltage to stabilize the operating point with temperature (b)

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Copyright (c) 2025 Kireev A.Y., Zhuravlev A.A., Sosunov A.V.