Candidate materials and technologies for integrated optics: fast and efficient electro-optic modulation

Abstract

This review discusses the linear electro-optic effect and how it is used in the fabrication of light modulators in a variety of different material systems. Lithium niobate is chosen as the foremost example of a suitable material since it currently forms the base for the most mature technology, although newer research on semiconductors and electro-optic polymers is also addressed. The fundamentals of modulator design which lead to the possibility of fast and efficient modulation are covered, as are some of the problems that are typically encountered during the realization of working devices.