A broadband Ti:LiNbO/sub 3/ optical modulator with a ridge structure

We describe the design, fabrication, and characteristics of a Ti:LiNbO/sub 3/ optical modulator with a ridge structure. The structure keeps microwave propagation loss low and enables a large interaction between microwaves and optical waves under the conditions of velocity-matching and impedance matching, resulting in a large modulation bandwidth and low driving voltage. Using this structure, we have developed an optical intensity modulator with an optical 3-dB bandwidth of 75 GHz and a driving voltage of 5.0 V at a wavelength of 1.5 /spl mu/m. >