Small half-wave voltage for MZI-based GaAs/GaAlAs electro-optic modulators/switches with co-planar electrodes

摘要

We have reported a method to achieve small half-wave voltage for high-speed MMI-MZI GaAs/GaAlAs electro-optic modulators and switches with co-planar electrodes for polarization-insensitive operation. By biasing the devices at the reverse breakdown region, the voltage to achieve switching can be greatly reduced about 23 V to 3 V. Such a small half-wave voltage would be very important for high-speed optical modulators and switches in advanced optical communications networks.