No Arabic abstract
The residual amplitude modulation ($mathrm{RAM}$) is the undesired, non-zero amplitude modulation that usually occurs when a phase modulation based on the electro-optic effect is imprinted on a laser beam. In this work, we show that electro-optic modulators (EOMs) that are used to generate the sidebands on the laser beam also generate a $mathrm{RAM}$ in the optical setup. This result contradicts standard textbooks, which assume the amplitude remains unchanged in the process and should be considered as a fundamental $mathrm{RAM}$ ($mathrm{RAM_{F}}$) for these devices. We present a classical model for the propagation of an infrared laser with frequency $omega_{0}$ in a wedge-shaped crystal and an EOM with an RF modulating signal of frequency $Omega$. Since ${Omega}ll omega_{0}$, we solve Maxwells equations in a time-varying media via a WKB approximation and we write the electromagnetic fields in terms of quasi-plane waves. From the emerging fields of the setup, we compute the associated $mathrm{RAM_{F}}$ and show that it depends on the phase-modulation depth $m$ and the quotient $left(frac{Omega}{omega_{0}}right)$. The $mathrm{RAM_{F}}$ values obtained for the EOMs used in gravitational wave detectors are presented. Finally, the cancellation of $mathrm{RAM_{F}}$ is analyzed.
Modern communication networks require high performance and scalable electro-optic modulators that convert electrical signals to optical signals at high speed. Existing lithium niobate modulators have excellent performance but are bulky and prohibitively expensive to scale up. Here we demonstrate scalable and high-performance nanophotonic electro-optic modulators made of single-crystalline lithium niobate microring resonators and micro-Mach-Zehnder interferometers. We show a half-wave electro-optic modulation efficiency of 1.8V$cdot$cm and data rates up to 40 Gbps.
In this paper, three different materials Si, ITO and graphene; and three different types of mode structures bulk, slot and hybrid; based on their electrooptical and electro absorptive aspects in performance are analyzed. The study focuses on three major characteristics of electrooptic tuning, i.e. material, modal and cavity dependency. The materials are characterized with established models and the allowed ranges for their key parameter spectra are analyzed with desired tuning in mind; categorizing into n and k dominant regions for plausible electrooptic and electro absorptive applications, respectively. A semi analytic approach, with the aid of FEM simulations for the eigenmode calculations, was used for this work. Electrooptic tuning i.e. resonance shift properties inside Fabry Perot cavities are investigated with modal and scaling concerns in mind. Tuning changes the effective complex refractive index of the mode dictated by the Kramers Kronig relations which subsequently suggest a tradeoff between the resonance shift and increasing losses. The electrical tuning properties of the different modes in the cavity are analyzed, and subsequently a figure of merit, delta-lambda/delta-alpha was chosen with respect to carrier concentration and cavity scaling to find prospective suitable regions for desired tuning effects.
Electro-optic modulators from non-linear $chi^{(2)}$ materials are essential for sensing, metrology and telecommunications because they link the optical domain with the microwave domain. At present, most geometries are suited for fiber applications. In contrast, architectures that modulate directly free-space light at gigahertz (GHz) speeds have remained very challenging, despite their dire need for active free-space optics, in diffractive computing or for optoelectronic feedback to free-space emitters. They are typically bulky or suffer from much reduced interaction lengths. Here, we employ an ultrathin array of sub-wavelength Mie resonators that support quasi bound states in the continuum (BIC) as a key mechanism to demonstrate electro-optic modulation of free-space light with high efficiency at GHz speeds. Our geometry relies on hybrid silicon-organic nanostructures that feature low loss ($Q = $ 550 at $lambda_{res} = 1594$ nm) while being integrated with GHz-compatible coplanar waveguides. We maximize the electro-optic effect by using high-performance electro-optic molecules (whose electro-optic tensor we engineer in-device to exploit $r_{33} = 100$ pm/V) and by nanoscale optimization of the optical modes. We demonstrate both DC tuning and high speed modulation up to 5~GHz ($f_{EO,-3 dB} =3$ GHz) and shift the resonant frequency of the quasi-BIC by $Deltalambda_{res}=$11 nm, surpassing its linewidth. We contrast the properties of quasi-BIC modulators by studying also guided mode resonances that we tune by $Deltalambda_{res}=$20 nm. Our approach showcases the potential for ultrathin GHz-speed free-space electro-optic modulators.
The quantum bits (qubits) on which superconducting quantum computers are based have energy scales corresponding to photons with GHz frequencies. The energy of photons in the gigahertz domain is too low to allow transmission through the noisy room-temperature environment, where the signal would be lost in thermal noise. Optical photons, on the other hand, have much higher energies, and signals can be detected using highly efficient single-photon detectors. Transduction from microwave to optical frequencies is therefore a potential enabling technology for quantum devices. However, in such a device the optical pump can be a source of thermal noise and thus degrade the fidelity; the similarity of input microwave state to the output optical state. In order to investigate the magnitude of this effect we model the sub-Kelvin thermal behavior of an electro-optic transducer based on a lithium niobate whispering gallery mode resonator. We find that there is an optimum power level for a continuous pump, whilst pulsed operation of the pump increases the fidelity of the conversion.
We phase-coherently measure the frequency of continuous-wave (CW) laser light by use of optical-phase modulation and f-2f nonlinear interferometry. Periodic electro-optic modulation (EOM) transforms the CW laser into a continuous train of picosecond optical pulses. Subsequent nonlinear-fiber broadening of this EOM frequency comb produces a supercontinuum with 160 THz of bandwidth. A critical intermediate step is optical filtering of the EOM comb to reduce electronic-noise-induced decoherence of the supercontinuum. Applying f-2f self-referencing with the supercontinuum yields the carrier-envelope offset frequency of the EOM comb, which is precisely the difference of the CW laser frequency and an exact integer multiple of the EOM pulse repetition rate. Here we demonstrate absolute optical frequency metrology and synthesis applications of the self-referenced CW laser with <5E-14 fractional accuracy and stability.