High-performance thin-film lithium niobate electro-optic modulator on a thick silica buffering layer

Optics Express 2026 Open access

Read full text
Authors: Xiaotian Xue, Yingdong Xu, wenjun ding, Rui Ye, Jing Qiu, Guangzhen Li, Jianbiao Dai, Shijie Liu, Hao Li, Luqi Yuan, Bo Wang, Yuanlin Zheng
+1 more Xianfeng Chen
DOI: 10.1364/oe.588103
Cited by: 3
References: 48

Abstract

High-speed thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) electro-optic modulators are essential for next-generation photonic integrated circuits. We demonstrate a high-performance TFLN Mach-Zehnder modulator on a thick silica buried layer using periodic capacitively loaded traveling-wave electrodes. Our design simplifies fabrication compared to undercut silicon or quartz substrates while enhancing modulation efficiency. The fabricated device achieves a modulation efficiency of 1.25 V·cm in the C-band with only 1.3 dB roll-off at 67 GHz, successfully overcoming the voltage-bandwidth trade-off. This work provides a streamlined, scalable approach for high-performance TFLN modulators, supporting advanced optical communications and signal processing.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics Quantum optics and atomic interactions Photonic and Optical Devices

Publication details

Journal / source
Optics Express
Publisher
Optica Publishing Group
Volume
34
Issue
7
Pages
13111–13111
Publication date
26 March 2026
Language
EN