Trading coupling loss for modulation efficiency in electrooptic modulators

Phase modulators utilizing the electrooptic effect in Li-NbO3are most efficient if the waveguide, and hence the guided mode, is positioned as closely as possible to the modulation electrode which is located at the surface of the crystal. However, placing the guided wave near the crystal surface tends to deform its shape so that the coupling loss between the waveguide mode and an optical fiber is increased. In this paper, we study the tradeoffs between coupling loss and modulation efficiency that result from moving the waveguide further below the crystal surface.