Multiple-quantum-well Mach-Zehnder modulators: comparison of calculated and measured results for modulator properties and system performance

A measurement-based model of a π phase-shift multiple-quantum-well Mach-Zehnder modulator with asymmetric Y-branch waveguides is presented. Using this model, calculated and measured results for the transmission contours, α-parameter, intensity modulation, and time-resolved chirp are compared. The suitability of the model for system performance evaluation is demonstrated by examining the implications of the modulator chirp on 10-Gb/s transmission over nondispersion shifted fiber, and the combined effect of the modulator chirp and group delay ripple of a dispersion compensating fiber Bragg grating on 10-Gb/s dispersion compensated transmission. Calculated and measured results for the system performance are compared.