High-speed electro-optic modulators and switches on LiNbO3

Thomas Pohlmann; Andreas Neyer; Edgar I. Voges

doi:10.1117/12.20482

1 August 1990 High-speed electro-optic modulators and switches on LiNbO3

Thomas Pohlmann, Andreas Neyer, Edgar I. Voges

Proceedings Volume 1274, Electro-Optic and Magneto-Optic Materials II; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.20482
Event: The International Congress on Optical Science and Engineering, 1990, The Hague, Netherlands

Abstract

High-speed electro-optic modulators and switches have important applications in external modulator systems and high-speed instrumentation. Phase-linear switching at high frequencies is accomplished by using balanced bridge interferometric switches with electro-optic tunable X-couplers. The devices are fabricated by titanium indiffusion into X-cut Y-propagating LiNbO3. For high-speed operation, traveling-wave electrodes of aluminium and gold are realized and investigated. Devices with a 3-dB bandwidth of 6.5 GHz using coplanar traveling-wave electrodes with a switching voltage of 7.0 V, an overall insertion loss of 4 dB and -35 dB extinction ratio are realized for ) = I .3 pm. The relations to determine the theoretical maximum 3-dB bandwidth of traveling-wave modulators rely on infinitely thin electrodes and the quasi-TEM approximation, which is not the case in practice. The influence of finite electrode thickness on the frequency response will be discussed. LiNbO3 devices show dc drift effects when applying dc voltages resulting in a temporal change of the output power of optical modulators and switches. Improvements in dc drift stability due to electrodes and buffer layers of indium-tin-oxide are reported. The performance of a new high-speed wavelength selective switch based on two-mode interference will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas Pohlmann, Andreas Neyer, and Edgar I. Voges "High-speed electro-optic modulators and switches on LiNbO3", Proc. SPIE 1274, Electro-Optic and Magneto-Optic Materials II, (1 August 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.20482

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