Thin film lithium niobate electro-optic modulator with terahertz operating bandwidth
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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Fabrication of Nanoheight Channels Incorporating Surface Acoustic Wave Actuation via Lithium Niobate for Acoustic Nanofluidics
Published on: February 5, 2020
Abstract:
We present a thin film crystal ion sliced (CIS) LiNbO3 phase modulator that demonstrates an unprecedented measured electro-optic (EO) response up to 500 GHz. Shallow rib waveguides are utilized for guiding a single transverse electric (TE) optical mode, and Au coplanar waveguides (CPWs) support the modulating radio frequency (RF) mode. Precise index matching between the co-propagating RF and optical modes is responsible for the device's broadband response, which is estimated to extend even beyond 500 GHz. Matching the velocities of these co-propagating RF and optical modes is realized by cladding the modulator's interaction region in a thin UV15 polymer layer, which increases the RF modal index. The fabricated modulator possesses a tightly confined optical mode, which lends itself to a strong interaction between the modulating RF field and the guided optical carrier; resulting in a measured DC half-wave voltage of 3.8 V·cm-1. The design, fabrication, and characterization of our broadband modulator is presented in this work.
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