Polymer electro-optic modulator efficiency enhancement by the high permittivity dielectric strips

The performance improvement of rib-waveguide electro-optic (EO) polymer modulators resulting from the inclusion of high permittivity dielectric strips is considered. For this study, we take into account the heterogeneous nature of the poling of the electro-optic polymer by the electrode structure, the dispersion of the RF wave due to the material dispersion in the waveguide, and the finite conductivity of the electrodes. It is shown that the insertion of additional insulating strips with high dielectric permittivity (such as MgO) considerably enhances (from 120% to 280%) the efficiency of EO tuning. Furthermore, this efficiency grows with increasing modulation frequency, yielding a 2.0 V half-wave voltage at 100 GHz, when DH-80 EO polymer is used. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.