Ultra-Broad-Band LiNbO_3 Electro-Optic Modulators with Novel Complex Electrode

The characteristics of Z- cut LiNbO3 optical modulators with novel complex electrode are discussed by using the finite element method (FEM) and studied experimentally in this paper. The travelling wave electrode consists of upper and lower parts. It can easily realize phase velocity matching between microwave and optical wave and drastically reduce microwave electrode loss. An electrooptic modulator with larger than 100 GHz bandwidth and half wave voltage 6 V is designed, fabricated and measured. Vπ is 5.1 V and the attenuation coefficient a0 is 0.3 dB/(cm· GHz1/2 ). The experimental results show that the modulator has great potentiality for expanding bandwidth.