Investigations on short-path-length high-speed optical modulators in LiNbO3 with resonant-type electrodes

Short-path-length resonant-type high-speed optical modulators are presented. To reduce the active electrode length and enhance modulation efficiencies, different types of resonant electrode structures were investigated using computer simulation tools. Electrical power coupling into the resonators was optimized with a variety of power-feeding circuits. Their resulting optical and electrical behaviors are compared with measurements on modulators fabricated in Ti:LiNbO₃. As a result, resonant-type optical modulators are presented that achieve a low voltage-length product of 25 V mm at 30 GHz in the 1.55-μm wavelength range. Fiber-to-fiber loss of a fully packaged phase modulator with an active optical path length as short as 0.7 mm was 2.3 dB