Improved electrooptic efficiency in guided-wave modulators

Author

Becker, R.A. ; Kincaid, B.E.

Author_Institution

Opt. Circuits Consultants, Cupertino, CA, USA

Volume

11

Issue

12

fYear

1993

fDate

12/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2076

Lastpage

2079

Abstract

The positioning of the waveguide in the electrode gap in X_c-cut, Y_c-propagating LiNbO₃ Mach-Zehnder intensity modulators with coplanar waveguide electrodes is analyzed, and experimentally investigated for the first time. It is found that for electrode gaps greater than 10 μm, the gap can be further increased with little increase in the drive voltage if the position of the waveguide is shifted toward the narrower center electrode. This is important because it allows the characteristic impedance of the modulator to be made closer to 50 Ω without incurring much of a drive voltage penalty

Keywords

electro-optical devices; electrodes; integrated optics; lithium compounds; optical modulation; optical waveguides; 10 mum; 10 ohm; LiNbO₃; LiNbO₃ Mach-Zehnder intensity modulators; X_c-cut; Y_c-propagating; characteristic impedance; coplanar waveguide electrodes; drive voltage; drive voltage penalty; electrode gap; electrode gaps; electrooptic efficiency; guided-wave modulators; narrower center electrode; Coplanar waveguides; Electrodes; Electrooptic modulators; Electrooptical waveguides; Impedance; Intensity modulation; Optical modulation; Optical waveguides; Voltage; Waveguide discontinuities;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.257972

Filename

257972