Kwang-Seong Choi

Development and RF characteristics of analog 60-GHz electroabsorption modulator module for RF/optic conversion

We developed an analog 60-GHz module for RF/optic conversion by using an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) device associated with a traveling-wave electrode. The impedance matching of the module was accomplished with the 30-/spl Omega/ termination such that the resonance was precisely located at 60 GHz and the fractional bandwidth at S/sub 11/=-15 dB was as large as 1.0 GHz. The RF/optic conversion gain of the EAM device revealed a strong dependence on the input optical power and was closely related with the slope change in the optical transmission characteristic with reverse bias. From the EAM module with the composite-type multiple-quantum-well electroabsorption core consisting of both 8- and 12-nm quantum wells, we obtained the optimal RF/optic conversion gain at the reverse bias between 1.5-2 V in a wide range of input optical power from -6 to +9 dBm. In the same bias range, the third-order intermodulation distortion was <-49.5 dBc as obtained with RF input of -7.5 dBm.

Measurement and Analysis of a High-Speed TSV Channel

Using high-speed through-silicon via (TSV) channels is a potential means of utilizing 3-D interconnections to realize considerable high-bandwidth throughput in vertically stacked and laterally distributed integrated circuits. However, although the TSV and a silicon interposer in a high-speed TSV channel lead to a significant decrease of the interconnect length, the received digital signal after transmission through a TSV channel is still degraded at a high data-rate due to the nonidealities of the channel. Therefore, an analysis of the signal integrity in a high-speed TSV channel is necessary. In this paper, a single-ended high-speed TSV channel is measured and analyzed in the frequency-domain and the time-domain. To measure the high-speed TSV channel, two types of test vehicles are fabricated, consisting of TSVs and interposers. With these test vehicles, the channel losses are measured in the frequency-domain up to 20 GHz, and eye-diagrams are measured in the time-domain at 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. Based on these measurements, the channel loss, characteristic impedance, and reflection of the high-speed TSV channel are analyzed and compared to those of the channel in multichip module (MCM) package. Because of the losses from the silicon-substrate and the thin oxide-layer used in the TSVs, the overall loss of the high-speed TSV channel is higher than that of the MCM channel. In addition, the characteristic impedance of the high-speed TSV channel is frequency-dependent, whereas that of the MCM channel is frequency-independent. Moreover, in contrast to the MCM channel, the reflection is negligible in the high-speed TSV channel because the channel is too short and the losses are too high to be affected by the reflection. Finally, the design guidance of a high-speed TSV channel for wide bandwidth is determined based on the analysis of the measurements.

Analysis and characterization of traveling-wave electrode in electroabsorption modulator for radio-on-fiber application

Comparing with a lumped electroabsorption modulator (EAM), we show the merits of a long EAM with traveling-wave electrode with high radio-frequency (RF) gain that could be used in high-frequency analog application. By terminating the RF output port with the characteristic impedance of 30 /spl Omega/, the device exhibited a large enhancement of 6 dB above 10 GHz in the electrical-to-optical response and a wide fractional bandwidth as estimated from simulation. In addition, an input impedance matching circuit of stub embedded on the device chip was found to be very effective for improving RF characteristics in the narrow band of frequency.

Channel estimation and synchronization for polarization-division multiplexed CO-OFDM using subcarrier/polarization interleaved training symbols.

We propose and demonstrate the use of subcarrier/polarization-interleaved training symbols for channel estimation and synchronization in polarization-division multiplexed (PDM) coherent optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (CO-OFDM) transmission. The principle, the computational efficiency, and the frequency-offset tolerance of the proposed method are described. We show that the use of subcarrier/polarization interleaving doubles the tolerance to the frequency offset between the transmit laser and the receivers optical local oscillator as compared to conventional schemes. Using this method, we demonstrate 43-Gb/s PDM CO-OFDM transmission with 16-QAM subcarrier modulation over 5,200-km of ultra-large-area fiber.

A 60-GHz-Band Analog Optical System-on-Package Transmitter for Fiber-Radio Communications

We developed an analog optical system-on-package (SoP) transmitter for a 60-GHz-band radio-over-fiber (RoF) link. The SoP transmitter consisted of an electroabsorption modulator, radio frequency amplifiers, and a bandpass filter. The 60-GHz RoF wireless link was prepared to measure the performance of the SoP transmitter. The transmission characteristics of 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM) data of the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, including the SoP transmitter, were investigated by measuring the error vector magnitude (EVM) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with a baseband frequency. The EVM of the 60-GHz RoF wireless link was between 2.25% and 2.80%, and the SNR was between 27.36 and 29.31 dB from 140 and 770 MHz, at input baseband power of -9 dBm. The noise figure had the minimum of 8.44 dB at 500 MHz. We successfully transmitted digital community antenna television (CATV) system signals through the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, including the SoP transmitter. Digital CATV signals of 86 channels could be transmitted through the 60-GHz RoF wireless link, and the total throughput was found to be 2.61 Gb/s.

Copper lead frame: an ultimate solution to the reliability of BLP package

Copper lead frame was chosen as an on-board reliability enhancement for the BLP (bottom leaded plastic) package. Adopting the copper lead frame needed a verification process for the package reliability because of its high affinity with oxygen that degrades package reliability. A series of tests were performed to select the best copper material and to determine the adhesion index parameter. The experimental results showed that the adhesion strength between the copper lead frame and EMC (epoxy molding compound) was affected by alloy composition, oxide layer thickness, and cupric/cuprous oxide ratio, Among them, the adhesion index parameter proved to be the cupric/cuprous oxide ratio. When it falls between 0.2-0.3, the highest adhesion strength was obtained regardless of alloy composition and oxide thickness. From the adhesion test results, the Cr-Zr-Cu copper alloy was employed as the lead frame for the 54-pin BLP package. The package reliability and on-board reliability tests including surface mountability, mechanical robustness, and solder joint reliability were carried out to compare the 54-pin BLP package, with Cr-Zr copper alloy and alloy 42 lead frame.

High-performance photoreceivers based on vertical-illumination type Ge-on-Si photodetectors operating up to 43 Gb/s at λ~1550nm.

We present high-sensitivity photoreceivers based on a vertical- illumination-type 100% Ge-on-Si p-i-n photodetectors (PDs), which operate up to 50 Gb/s with high responsivity. A butterfly-packaged photoreceiver using a Ge PD with 3-dB bandwidth (f(-3dB)) of 29 GHz demonstrates the sensitivities of -10.15 dBm for 40 Gb/s data rate and -9.47 dBm for 43 Gb/s data rate, at BER of 10(-12) and λ ~1550 nm. Also a photoreceiver based on a Ge PD with f(-3dB)~19 GHz shows -14.14 dBm sensitivity at 25 Gb/s operation. These results prove the high performance levels of vertical-illumination type Ge PDs ready for practical high-speed network applications.

System-on-packaging with electro-absorption modulator for 60 GHz band radio-over-fiber link

We developed a system-on-packaging (SoP) with an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) for a 60 GHz band radio-over-fiber (RoF) link. It consists of an EAM device, a microstrip filter, and a low noise amplifier (LNA). The microstrip filter was used to achieve the impedance matching between the EAM device and the LNA and to reject the local oscillator (LO) frequency of the heterodyne system. The frequency response and the effect of the EAM bias voltage of a simple RF/optical link were measured. A 60 GHz band RoF link with 2.4 GHz intermediate frequency (IF) was prepared to measure the transmission characteristics of 16 QAM data

Characterization of oxidized copper leadframes and copper/epoxy molding compound interface adhesion in plastic package

For plastic packages, copper leadframes can provide many advantages such as good thermal and electrical performance, and cost effectiveness. Copper is, however, susceptible to popcorn cracking during the surface mounting process on the PCB due to poor adhesion between the leadframe and EMC (epoxy molding compound). Experimental results showed that the adhesion strength between copper leadframes and the EMC was affected by alloy composition, CuO/Cu/sub 2/O ratios, oxide layer thickness, and oxidation conditions. The growth of the oxide layer for the Cr-Zr copper alloy was faster than for Ni-Si copper alloys, while the latter had lower adhesion strength than the former. The adhesion strength of the copper alloys depended on the CuO/Cu/sub 2/O ratio rather than oxide thickness. The adhesion strength was highest at a CuO/Cu/sub 2/O ratio of 0.2/spl sim/0.3, regardless of alloy composition and oxide thickness. We found that this was caused by the segregation effect of soluble elements at the oxide/leadframe interface.

60-GHz System-on-Packaging Transmitter for Radio-Over-Fiber Applications

Using ultra-high-speed electroabsorption modulator (EAM) devices for RF/optic conversion, we fabricated system-on-packaging (SOP) transmitter (Tx) modules and characterized their performance in 60-GHz RF/radio-over-fiber (ROF) applications. Both an EAM and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) were co-packaged with internal bias circuits into a butterfly-type metal housing. At the EAM temperature,T~ 25degC and the EAM reverse bias, VR~1.6 V was the largest RF gain obtained that was very susceptible to the change of T . The impedance matching in the 60-GHz band was accomplished with both a microstrip-line bandpass filter and a 500- Omega shunt resistor, which defined the 2-GHz passband of the SOP transmitter. In 60-GHz two-tone experiments, we observed that the spurious free dynamic range of an SOP module with two LNAs was 78 dB middot Hz2/3 while that of the narrowband EAM module showed 82 dB middot Hz2/3. In contrast, the noise figure exhibited a large reduction of up to 30 dB for the SOP module compared with the narrowband EAM module. Using the SOP Tx module, we achieved successful transmission of commercial high-definition digital CATV signals in 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) format through the 60-GHz RF/ROF link. The total throughput of the link was estimated to be 6.5 Gb/s.