Bulk electro-optic deflector-based switches

Abstract

We propose two novel electro-optic (EO) deflectors based on two new nonrectangular geometries: the parabolic and the half-horn configurations. These devices not only provide excellent deflection angles, but also have the potential to build nonblocking 2 x 2 optical switches. A deflector figure of merit is defined, and comparisons with existing EO deflectors are given. Devices fabricated in LiTaO(3) demonstrate 3 dB of average insertion loss and 3 degrees deflection angles. These results represent the best deflection performances to our knowledge reported to date for bulk EO deflectors.