Investigation of the effect of the applied voltage to the control electrodes of a lithium niobate phase modulator on the intensity distribution at the ends of channel waveguides and on parasitic amplitude modulation

Shulepova A.V., Shulepov V.A., Strigalev V.E. Investigation of the effect of the applied voltage to the control electrodes of a lithium niobate phase modulator on the intensity distribution at the ends of channel waveguides and on parasitic amplitude modulation. Scientific and Technical Journal of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 2024, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 357–365 (in Russian). doi: 10.17586/2226-1494-2024-24-3-357-365

It is known that when optical radiation passes through the phase modulator of a multifunctional integrated-optical chip (MIOC), along with the modulation of the phase of the light wave, there is a change in the power of optical radiation at the output of the coupled waveguide. This modulation is parasitic, and its magnitude depends on the control voltage at the modulator electrodes. Amplitude modulation leads to an error in the output signal of highly sensitive phase sensors, in particular, in a fiber optic gyroscope. This paper presents an experimental study of the change in the spatial intensity distribution (mode field) at the end of channel waveguides of a multifunctional integrated-optical chip under the action of an applied voltage. The experimental setup was assembled with a radiation source in the form of a singlefrequency laser RIO ORION with a central emission wavelength of 1550 nm. The optical receiver was an infrared camera SP503U-1550 with radiation registration in the wavelength range 1440–1605 nm, pixel size 9.9 × 9.9 μm and matrix size 640 × 480 pixels. The multifunctional integrated-optical chip was fabricated by titanium diffusion technology in Ti:LiNbO₃ X-cut lithium niobate crystal substrate. A constant control voltage in the range from –10 V to +10 V was applied to the electrodes of the MIOC phase modulator. The distribution of optical radiation intensity in MIOC waveguides and in a single-mode optical fiber with an elliptical ESC-4 straining sheath was analyzed by calculating the overlap integral. The effect of electric field on optical radiation in MIOC waveguides is experimentally demonstrated. It is demonstrated that at constant voltage at the control electrodes of the phase modulator change in the radiation intensity distribution at the output of channel waveguides is observed. The observed changes correlate with parasitic amplitude modulation. The occurrence of parasitic amplitude modulation is due to the propagation of parasitic optical radiation along the waveguide. This phenomenon is caused by the escape of lithium oxide from the surface layer of lithium niobate into the gas phase during the technological process of titanium diffusion. The studies have allowed us to better understand the mechanisms of parasitic amplitude modulation in the phase modulator of MIOC and to develop practical recommendations for their elimination. These results can be useful for specialists working on research in the field of highly sensitive phase sensors using integrated optic circuits. 

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