Integrated optic electrooptic modulator electrode analysis

Integrated optical (IO) switches and modulators are based on the electrooptic effect obtained by applying a voltage between electrodes fabricated on the surface of a crystal (for example, LiNbO
3
). In this paper, we calculate the change in the optical propagation constant in single mode
Z
-cut LiNbO
3
:Ti-diffused waveguides for a variety of electrode configurations. These calculations are compared to experimental data from IO devices. The calculations predict the observed variations in switching voltage with wavelength and electrode separation.