Electro-optic polymer modulator arrays for bit-parallel wavelength division multiplexed networks

An unconventional and novel technology of integrating fiber-optic half blocks and epitaxial lift-off semiconductor layers is proposed for the fabrication of rugged in-line electro-optic modulators with ultralow insertion loss. The proposed in-line electro-optic modulator has many advantages over other modulator technologies. The self-pigtailed fiber-optic half block provides low-loss, high throughput input/output coupling to the network, and the ELO semiconductor thin c film provide an efficient, stable electro-optic modulation of the optical beam. The in-line modulator employs a continuous optical fiber with a partially exposed propagation mode. The epilayer is bonded to the fiber half block by Van der Waals force. Because there is no fiber breakage, no epoxy, and no organic materials : used in packaging, the modulator will have a maximum mechanical stability which will be particularly useful in aviation and space applications. This effort will investigate the feasibility of using the proposed technologies to fabricate a family of high performance and high stability in-line modulators with insertion loss down to ~t dB. In Phase I, the modulator design, fabrication technology, and package issues will be studied and an experimental in-line modulator will be fabricated for initial testing.