Oxygen-Octahedra Ferroelectrics. II. Electro-optical and Nonlinear-Optical Device Applications

Abstract

Using the common polarization‐potential tensors and the common refractive‐index‐dispersion parameter which characterize the electro‐optical and nonlinear optical properties of all oxygen‐octahedra ferroelectrics, we analyze in detail the device behavior of electro‐optic modulators, light deflectors, and optical secondharmonic generators. General expressions for device characteristics are presented, existing materials are compared, and fundamental design limitations are emphasized. Important practical constraints related to drive circuitry and material‐fabrication difficulties are also considered. It is shown that thermal considerations impose serious constraints on the power and bandwidth capabilities of modulators and deflectors. Based on the common refractive‐index‐dispersion behavior of oxygen‐octahedra ferroelectrics, we show that in second‐harmonic‐generation applications there exists a general relationship between the crystal birefringence and the refractive index at the fundamental for collinear phase matching. This result, when combined with the common polarization‐potential tensor, allows us to obtain a single expression for the harmonic power in which the only important material quantities are the refractive index at the fundamental and the crystal symmetry.