Efficient, high-frequency bulk phase modulator

Appl Opt. 2004 Mar 20;43(9):1946-50. doi: 10.1364/ao.43.001946.

Abstract

An efficient, 10.4-GHz bulk phase modulator is demonstrated that produces frequency-modulated optical bandwidths in excess of 300 GHz in a double-pass configuration with modest microwave drive power. The waveguide resonator design employs velocity matching to maximize phase-modulation efficiency and a modified form of cutoff waveguide coupling to achieve a high microwave cavity Q factor that reduces power requirements. The measured microwave performance of the modulator agrees well with performance predicted from fully anisotropic, three-dimensional numerical simulations.