75 GHz broadband Ti:LiNbO3 optical modulator with ridge structure

Abstract
The authors propose a Ti:LiNbO3 optical modulator employing a ridge structure with a thick electrode. The structure offers a low microwave propagation loss and strong interaction between microwaves and optical waves under conditions of velocity matching and impedance matching, resulting in a large modulation bandwidth and low driving voltage. Using this device, the authors have developed an optical intensity modulator with a 3 dB optical bandwidth of 75 GHz and a driving voltage of 5.0 V at 1.5 µm.