Integrated Circuit Design for Hybrid Optoelectronic Interconnects

Author

Kehan Zhu, Boise State UniversityFollow

Publication Date

12-2016

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

12-4-2016

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Supervisory Committee Chair

John Chiasson, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Co-Chair

Vishal Saxena, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Hao Chen, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Wan Kuang, Ph.D.

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on high-speed circuit design for the integration of hybrid optoelectronic interconnects. It bridges the gap between electronic circuit design and optical device design by seamlessly incorporating the compact Verilog-A model for optical components into the SPICE-like simulation environment, such as the Cadence design tool.

Optical components fabricated in the IME 130nm SOI CMOS process are characterized. Corresponding compact Verilog-A models for Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) device are developed. With this approach, electro-optical co-design and hybrid simulation are made possible.

The developed optical models are used for analyzing the system-level specifications of an MZM based optoelectronic transceiver link. Link power budgets for NRZ, PAM-4 and PAM-8 signaling modulations are simulated at system-level. The optimal transmitter extinction ratio (ER) is derived based on the required receiver's minimum optical modulation amplitude (OMA).

A limiting receiver is fabricated in the IBM 130 nm CMOS process. By side- by-side wire-bonding to a commercial high-speed InGaAs/InP PIN photodiode, we demonstrate that the hybrid optoelectronic limiting receiver can achieve the bit error rate (BER) of 10^-12 with a -6.7 dBm sensitivity at 4 Gb/s.

A full-rate, 4-channel 2⁹-1 length parallel PRBS is fabricated in the IBM 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process. Together with a 10 GHz phase locked loop (PLL) designed from system architecture to transistor level design, the PRBS is demonstrated operating at more than 10 Gb/s. Lessons learned from high-speed PCB design, dealing with signal integrity issue regarding to the PCB transmission line are summarized.

Recommended Citation

Zhu, Kehan, "Integrated Circuit Design for Hybrid Optoelectronic Interconnects" (2016). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 1236.
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/1236