Characterization and Compensation of the Residual Chirp in a Mach-Zehnder-Type Electro-Optical Intensity Modulator

We utilize various techniques to characterize the residual phase modulation of a fiber-based Mach-Zehnder electro-optical intensity modulator. A heterodyne technique is used to directly measure the phase change due to a given change in intensity, thereby determining the chirp parameter of the device. This chirp parameter is also measured by examining the ratio of sidebands for sinusoidal amplitude modulation. Finally, the frequency chirp caused by an intensity pulse on the nanosecond time scale is measured via the heterodyne signal. We show that this chirp can be largely compensated with a separate phase modulator. The various measurements of the chirp parameter are in reasonable agreement.