Multigigahertz lumped-element electrooptic modulators

Abstract

Multigigahertz-bandwidth lumped-element optical-guided-wave Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulators have been designed, fabricated in LiNbO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf> , tested, and analyzed. Three modulators were built having 3 dB bandwidths of 2.75, 4.4, and 7.3 GHz with V <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">π</inf> 's of 7, 14, and 28 V, respectively. A simple RLC equivalent circuit model adequately predicts the packaged modulator performance. Coupled with previously reported work, this demonstrates the ability to reliably design and fabricate lumped-element modulators which operate from dc through 7.3 GHz.