A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator
Optical intensity modulators (OIMs) are essential for mid-infrared (mid-IR) photonics, enabling applications such as bond-selective molecular sensing, and free-space communications via atmospheric windows. Integrated photonics offers a compact and cost-effective solution, yet on-chip mid-IR OIMs sig...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AIP Publishing LLC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | APL Photonics |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0235751 |
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| author | Hyeon Hwang Kiyoung Ko Mohamad Reza Nurrahman Kiwon Moon Jung Jin Ju Sang-Wook Han Hojoong Jung Min-Kyo Seo Hansuek Lee |
| author_facet | Hyeon Hwang Kiyoung Ko Mohamad Reza Nurrahman Kiwon Moon Jung Jin Ju Sang-Wook Han Hojoong Jung Min-Kyo Seo Hansuek Lee |
| author_sort | Hyeon Hwang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Optical intensity modulators (OIMs) are essential for mid-infrared (mid-IR) photonics, enabling applications such as bond-selective molecular sensing, and free-space communications via atmospheric windows. Integrated photonics offers a compact and cost-effective solution, yet on-chip mid-IR OIMs significantly underperform compared to their near-IR counterparts. Furthermore, despite the potential benefits for system reconfiguration in accessing various communication frequencies and molecular absorption bands, developing a single OIM capable of operating across a broad spectral range remains a challenge. In this study, we introduce an on-chip OIM that operates over a wide wavelength range in the mid-IR, implemented using a racetrack resonator structure in thin film lithium niobate (TFLN). The modulator employs a two-point coupling scheme, allowing active control of the coupling strength to maintain critical coupling and thereby ensuring high modulation extinction across a wide spectral region. This approach not only achieves high modulation performance but also relaxes the design constraints and fabrication precision typically associated with resonator-based modulators, as confirmed through an analytic model. Implemented in TFLN having a wide transmission spectrum and strong electro-optic coefficient, the OIM demonstrates a modulation extinction ratio exceeding 20 dB with an electro-optic efficiency of 7.7 V cm over the wavelength range of 3.3–3.8 μm, which falls within the first atmospheric transmission widow in the mid-IR. This approach can be adapted to other spectral regions, providing a versatile solution for diverse photonic applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03ab350213db4fc7b169083c3fb0193f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2378-0967 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | AIP Publishing LLC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | APL Photonics |
| spelling | doaj-art-03ab350213db4fc7b169083c3fb0193f2025-02-03T16:36:22ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Photonics2378-09672025-01-01101016116016116-1110.1063/5.0235751A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonatorHyeon Hwang0Kiyoung Ko1Mohamad Reza Nurrahman2Kiwon Moon3Jung Jin Ju4Sang-Wook Han5Hojoong Jung6Min-Kyo Seo7Hansuek Lee8Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaElectronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 34129, Republic of KoreaElectronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 34129, Republic of KoreaCenter for Quantum Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Republic of KoreaCenter for Quantum Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaOptical intensity modulators (OIMs) are essential for mid-infrared (mid-IR) photonics, enabling applications such as bond-selective molecular sensing, and free-space communications via atmospheric windows. Integrated photonics offers a compact and cost-effective solution, yet on-chip mid-IR OIMs significantly underperform compared to their near-IR counterparts. Furthermore, despite the potential benefits for system reconfiguration in accessing various communication frequencies and molecular absorption bands, developing a single OIM capable of operating across a broad spectral range remains a challenge. In this study, we introduce an on-chip OIM that operates over a wide wavelength range in the mid-IR, implemented using a racetrack resonator structure in thin film lithium niobate (TFLN). The modulator employs a two-point coupling scheme, allowing active control of the coupling strength to maintain critical coupling and thereby ensuring high modulation extinction across a wide spectral region. This approach not only achieves high modulation performance but also relaxes the design constraints and fabrication precision typically associated with resonator-based modulators, as confirmed through an analytic model. Implemented in TFLN having a wide transmission spectrum and strong electro-optic coefficient, the OIM demonstrates a modulation extinction ratio exceeding 20 dB with an electro-optic efficiency of 7.7 V cm over the wavelength range of 3.3–3.8 μm, which falls within the first atmospheric transmission widow in the mid-IR. This approach can be adapted to other spectral regions, providing a versatile solution for diverse photonic applications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0235751 |
| spellingShingle | Hyeon Hwang Kiyoung Ko Mohamad Reza Nurrahman Kiwon Moon Jung Jin Ju Sang-Wook Han Hojoong Jung Min-Kyo Seo Hansuek Lee A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator APL Photonics |
| title | A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| title_full | A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| title_fullStr | A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| title_full_unstemmed | A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| title_short | A wide-spectrum mid-infrared electro-optic intensity modulator employing a two-point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| title_sort | wide spectrum mid infrared electro optic intensity modulator employing a two point coupled lithium niobate racetrack resonator |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0235751 |
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