Broadband Modulation of Light by Using an Electro-Optic Polymer

TLDR

Increasing optical telecom bandwidth requires encoding electronic signals onto light at very high rates, and polymer electro‑optic materials can support operation beyond the current 40‑GHz limit. By selecting suitable polymers, the authors eliminated high‑frequency decay, achieving a modulator bandwidth of 150–200 GHz and detectable signals up to 1.6 THz, surpassing foreseeable future requirements.

Abstract

A major challenge to increasing bandwidth in optical telecommunications is to encode electronic signals onto a lightwave carrier by modulating the light up to very fast rates. Polymer electro-optic materials have the necessary properties to function in photonic devices beyond the 40-GHz bandwidth currently available. An appropriate choice of polymers is shown to effectively eliminate the factors contributing to an optical modulator's decay in the high-frequency response. The resulting device modulates light with a bandwidth of 150 to 200 GHz and produces detectable modulation signal at 1.6 THz. These rates are faster than anticipated bandwidth requirements for the foreseeable future.