Title :
Small half-wave voltage for MZI-based GaAs/GaAlAs electro-optic modulators/switches with co-planar electrodes
Author :
Cao, S. ; Noad, J. ; Sun, L. ; James, R. ; Coulas, D. ; Lovell, G. ; Higgins, E.
Author_Institution :
Commun. Res. Center, Ottawa, ON
Abstract :
We have reported a method to achieve small half-wave voltage for high-speed MMI-MZI GaAs/GaAlAs electro-optic modulators and switches with co-planar electrodes for polarization-insensitive operation. By biasing the devices at the reverse breakdown region, the voltage to achieve switching can be greatly reduced about 23 V to 3 V. Such a small half-wave voltage would be very important for high-speed optical modulators and switches in advanced optical communications networks.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; Mach-Zehnder interferometers; electro-optical modulation; electro-optical switches; electrodes; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; GaAs-GaAlAs; MZI; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; advanced optical communications networks; coplanar electrodes; electrooptic modulators; electrooptic switches; small half wave voltage; Breakdown voltage; Communication switching; Electrodes; Electrooptic modulators; Gallium arsenide; High speed optical techniques; Optical devices; Optical modulation; Optical polarization; Optical switches;
Conference_Titel :
IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, 2008. LEOS 2008. 21st Annual Meeting of the
Conference_Location :
Acapulco
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1931-9
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1932-6
DOI :
10.1109/LEOS.2008.4688552
