Electro-optic microwave-lightwave converters utilising quasi-phase-matching array of patch antennas with gap

Proposed is a new electro-optic microwave-lightwave converter using an optical waveguide and a quasi-phase-matching (QPM) array of patch antennas embedded with a gap. A wireless microwave signal can be received and directly converted to a lightwave signal with low microwave distortion through optical modulation by use of the proposed device. Furthermore, by adopting the QPM structures, the transit-time effect is compensated for and conversion efficiency can be improved. In the experiment using a fabricated device, the conversion efficiency was improved by 10 dB.