Experimental investigation on the unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer on lithium niobate thin film

Abstract

We design and fabricate an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) via electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching on lithium niobate thin film. The single unbalanced MZI exhibits a maximum extinction ratio of 32.4 dB and a low extra loss of 1.14 dB at the telecommunication band. Furthermore, tunability of the unbalanced MZI by harnessing the thermo-optic and electro-optic effect is investigated, achieving a linear tuning efficiency of 42.8 pm/°C and 55.2 pm/V, respectively. The demonstrated structure has applications for sensing and filtering in photonic integrated circuits.

Structure simulation and design optimization of high-performance lithium niobate thin film electro-optic modulator

“…As is well known, the key performance characteristics of EOM include bandwidth, driving voltage, and photoelectric field coincidence degree, etc. [24][25][26] The RF simulation of the modulator is carried out using HFSS, where a three-dimensional model of the modulation region structure of the MZM is created in the software. Special attention should be paid to the anisotropy of the LN, and the relative permittivity needs to be set to consistent with the x-cut direction.…”

“…As is well known, the key performance characteristics of EOM include bandwidth, driving voltage, and photoelectric field coincidence degree, etc 24 – 26 The RF simulation of the modulator is carried out using HFSS, where a three-dimensional model of the modulation region structure of the MZM is created in the software.…”

The Design and Characterization of an Ultra-Compact Asymmetrical Multimode Interference Splitter on Lithium Niobate Thin Film

“…With breakthroughs in nanofabrication technology, the successful manufacturing of lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) makes it possible to integrate high-performance nanophotonic systems [4][5][6]. With the rapid development seen in recent years, some devices based on LNOIs have been widely developed, such as electrooptical modulators [7][8][9][10][11][12], optical frequency combs [13][14][15][16], and wavelength converters [17]. A power splitter is an essential component for integrated functional photonic systems.…”

Broadband second-harmonic generation in thin-film lithium niobate microdisk via cyclic quasi-phase matching

“…Recently, the emerge of the thinfilm lithium niobate (TFLN) platform has propelled the development of integrated nonlinear photonics as well as LN-based devices to a new height [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Various high-performance nonlinear devices on the novel platform have been demonstrated using different geometries [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] . Among these, whispering-gallerymode (WGM) microresonators are indispensable units for frequency conversion, as they can confine light in a small volume for a long time and greatly enhance light-matter interaction.…”