International Conference on Integrated Circuits and Microsystems (ICICM)

A Laser Modulation Driver in 130-nm CMOS Technology for Quantum Key Distribution System

Bo Feng, Futian Liang, Xinzhe Wang, Yulong Zhu, Chenxi Zhu, Ge Jin

Published Oct 1, 2019• 1 citation

Abstract

Laser modulation is a process to modulate the photons to different states in quantum key distribution (QKD) system. A laser modulation driver, which is a pre-driver for the laser modulator, is presented in this paper. The laser modulation driver is implemented in a 130-nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The laser modulation driver can provide a current pulse signal with an adjustable amplitude and an adjustable pulse-width to a distributed power amplifier. The pulse-width of the current signal can be adjusted from 300 ps to 3800 ps, the maximum adjustable amplitude is 14.4 mA, and the data rate can reach 625 Mb/s. According to the test results, the laser modulation driver can meet the requirements of the electro-optic modulator (EOM) in QKD system, and it can be used in the laser modulation circuit in QKD experiments.

DOI: 10.1109/icicm48536.2019.8977145

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