OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE ELEMENT

摘要

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical waveguide element that suppresses diffusion of carriers such as lithium ions into a buffer layer and for which a drive voltage is stable over a long period of time. The optical waveguide element has: a substrate (1) having an electrooptic effect; an optical waveguide pathway (2) formed in the substrate; a buffer layer (5) formed on the substrate; and modulation electrodes (3, 4) that are formed on the buffer layer and modulate light waves propagated in the optical waveguide pathway. The optical waveguide element is characterized by a maldistribution suppressing layer (6), which suppresses diffusion and maldistribution of metal ions included in the substrate into the buffer layer, provided between the optical waveguide pathway (2) and the buffer layer (5).