FABRICATION OF A POLYMER CPW ELECTRO-OPTIC MODULATOR USING A STRIP-LOADED WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURE

摘要

In this letter, the successful demonstration of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) Mach-Zehnder (MZ) electro-optic (EO) modulator using a strip waveguide structure is described and fabricated. The EO active hybrid material is synthesized by sol- gel process. A large EO coefficient of r{sub}33 = 50 pm/V with a long-term stability at 80℃ for 200 h was gained. It also has a controllable refractive index and permits a high-loading concentration. A simple and easily fabricated strip-loaded waveguide structure is designed and demonstrated to utilize the EO material, which is suitable to reduce the coupling loss with optical fiber. The measured half wave voltage (V{sub}π) of the CPW MZ modulator is about 8.5 V at 1550 nm in a 3.5-cm-long sample. The optimized design principles of the efficient transmission for such a modulator are also discussed in this letter.