INTEGRATED OPTIC MODULATORS WITH HIGH GAIN BANDWIDTH PRODUCT

摘要

The present invention relates to integrated optic modulator devices (1) and methods for their fabrication. Lithium niobate substrates (2) have waveguides (52) fabricated in them for propagating light energy, preferably in Mach Zhender architectures, and in the middle of these waveguides there is a central electrode (51). The waveguides are also bordered by adjacent electrode metallizations (50) of low resistivity, such as copper and silver, to provide the devices with high gain bandwidth products to reduce the cost of drive electronics and simplify processing procedures. The modulator device also includes a buffer layer (55), preferably silicon dioxide. Gain bandwidth products exceed 4.5 x 10<5>. The waveguide is terminated with impedance (54) for best RF performance and an RF driver (56) is connected to the electrodes.