Multigigahertz lumped-element electrooptic modulators

Multigigahertz-bandwidth lumped-element optical-guided-wave Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulators have been designed, fabricated in LiNbO
3
, tested, and analyzed. Three modulators were built having 3 dB bandwidths of 2.75, 4.4, and 7.3 GHz with V
π
's of 7, 14, and 28 V, respectively. A simple RLC equivalent circuit model adequately predicts the packaged modulator performance. Coupled with previously reported work, this demonstrates the ability to reliably design and fabricate lumped-element modulators which operate from dc through 7.3 GHz.