Design optimization of high-speed optical modulators

The effects of design parameters on the modulating voltage and optical bandwidth are reported for lithium niobate, GaAs and polymer electro-optic modulators by using rigorous numerical techniques. It is shown that by etching lithium niobate, the switching voltage can be reduced and the bandwidth improved. For a GaAs-based modulator using higher aluminium content in the buffer layer for a given optical loss can shorten the device length. It is also observed that the dielectric loss and impedance matching play a key role in velocity-matched high-speed modulators with low conductor loss. It is also indicated in the work that by using tantalium pentoxide coating, velocity matching can be achieved for GaAs modulators. The effect of non-vertical side wall on the polarisation conversion and single mode operation and the bending loss of polymer rib waveguide for electro-optical modulators are also reported.