140 Gbps O-band DAC-less PAM-4 generation enabled by a dual-drive thin-film lithium niobate modulator

Applied Optics 2026

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Authors: Jia Li, Yu Zheng, Zhen Chen, Mengqi Wu, Yunhao Zhang, Yuhan Wang, Lulu Liu, Yifei Wang, Lei Wang, Ke Li, Yuefeng Hu, Zhiyuan Li
+1 more Chen Zhang
DOI: 10.1364/ao.587355
Cited by: 1
References: 29

Abstract

DAC-less optical transmitters offer a critical low-power solution for high-speed fronthaul but face severe linearity and chirp constraints on silicon platforms. In this work, we demonstrate a high-performance O-band dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) based on the thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform. The device exhibits a 3 dB electro-optic bandwidth of 70 GHz. By independently driving the dual arms with binary electrical signals, we realize DAC-less PAM-4 generation at 140 Gbps per lane, with an extinction ratio of 4.92 dB. This demonstration confirms the potential of DUV-processed TFLN modulators as a key enabling technology for energy-efficient, high-speed, and low-latency 6G fronthaul applications.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics Optical Network Technologies Photonic and Optical Devices

Publication details

Journal / source
Applied Optics
Publisher
Optica Publishing Group
Volume
65
Issue
9
Pages
3006–3006
Publication date
26 February 2026
Language
EN