Large Bandwidth Optical Modulators Utilizing Millimeter Wavelength Drivers

This paper describes the research and development effort under way at Hughes Research Laboratories (HRL) to design, fabricate, and test infrared traveling-wave modulators that can be excited by millimeter-wavelength drivers. The modulators are designed for eventual use in high-data-rate communication systems and for laser wave-length shifting in isotope separation experiments. These programs have demonstrated that millimeter-wavelength excited infrared modulators have the potential to advance the state of the art for optical modulation bandwidth by a factor of three and reduce driver power by at least an order of magnitude.