TFLN MZM Operating at 1- μ m Wavelength With Low Vπ and High Bandwidth

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Authors: Marco Moller de Freitas, Xiaofeng Zhu, M. Ifaz Isti, Joshua Arnold, Ruidong Xue, Jiuyi Zhang, Peng Yao, Timothy Creazzo, Christopher J. Cullen, Shouyuan Shi, Dennis W. Prather
Cited by: 2
References: 20

Abstract

Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) electro-optic modulators have been widely explored at 1550 nm, achieving ultra-low driving voltages, broad bandwidths, and compact footprints. Yet, development at 1064 nm has remained comparatively limited, despite its growing importance for applications that demand high power and cost-effective integration with CMOS-compatible silicon photodetectors such as free-space optics, frequency combs and biophotonics. In this work, we demonstrate a high-efficiency TFLN modulator operating at 1064 nm contributing to fulfilling this gap. The device employs a 1 cm-long interaction region with capacitively loaded traveling-wave electrodes designed to minimize the velocity mismatch between RF and optical modes, achieving an index mismatch as low as 0.05. This careful optimization enables a high frequency half-wave voltage of 1.45 V and a 40 GHz 3-dB bandwidth, representing the best performance reported to date for 1064 nm operation. These results highlight the potential of TFLN modulators to extend beyond traditional telecom wavelengths leveraging lower Vπ, high quality lasers and easy integration with Si photodetectors.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics Advanced Photonic Communication Systems Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies

Publication details

Journal / source
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Volume
38
Issue
8
Pages
555–558
Publication date
19 January 2026