Testing silicon photonic Mach–Zehnder modulators versus total ionizing dose

Cammarata, Simone;Mattiazzo, Serena;Pantano, Devis;Palla, Fabrizio;Velha, Philippe;Pintus, Paolo;Saponara, Sergio;Di Pasquale, Fabrizio;Oton, Claudio J.;Faralli, Stefano

2024-01-01

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Abstract

Silicon photonics is emerging as a key technology for developing radiation-tolerant optical transceivers. In this work, we present the electro-optical characterization of two radiation-hardened shallow-etched Mach-Zehnder modulators with different doping configurations when exposed to 1.2 Grad(SiO2) total ionizing dose. The trade-offs between radiation hardness and nominal performance metrics are highlighted to provide insights for optimizing SiPh devices for high-energy physics applications.