Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Optica, Optics Express, 26(30), p. 47103, 2022

DOI: 10.1364/oe.476970

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Y-Z cut lithium niobate longitudinal piezoelectric resonant photoelastic modulator

Journal article published in 2022 by Okan Atalar, Steven Yee ORCID, Amir H. Safavi-Naeini, Amin Arbabian
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

The capability to modulate the intensity of an optical beam has scientific and practical significance. In this work, we demonstrate Y-Z cut lithium niobate acousto-optic modulators with record-high modulation efficiency, requiring only 1.5 W/cm2 for 100% modulation at 7 MHz. These modulators use a simple fabrication process; coating the top and bottom surfaces of a thin lithium niobate wafer with transparent electrodes. The fundamental shear acoustic mode of the wafer is excited through the transparent electrodes by applying voltage with frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of this mode, confining an acoustic standing wave to the electrode region. Polarization of light propagating through this region is modulated at the applied frequency. Polarization modulation is converted to intensity modulation by placing the modulator between polarizers. To showcase an important application space for this modulator, we integrate it with a standard image sensor and demonstrate 4 megapixel time-of-flight imaging.