Latest improvements on Near Infra-Red Phase and Amplitude Modulators

New Near-Infra-Red Modulators: Lower Vπ , Wider EO-Bandwidth, Higher optical input power handling ideal for generation and optimization of your optical pulses.

iXblue Photonics provides phase and intensity modulators in the near infrared operating from 760 nm to 1 150 nm with a modulation bandwidth of up to 40 GHz.

The key features of iXblue modulators are:

•  High optical input power handling – up to 25 dBm HOP option – with best-in-class stability
•  Low Insertion Loss – less than 2 dB LIL option
•  High PER – more than 30 dB HPER option
•  Very High SER – more than 60 dB HSER option
•  Low Residual Amplitude Modulation – more than 30 dB LRAM option
•  High Electrical input Power capability – more than 33 dBm HEP option
•  Wide Electro-Optical Bandwidth – up to 40 GHz WEO-BW option

Higher optical input power handling capability

It is well known that LiNbO_³ modulators become more susceptible to photorefractive effect at shorter wavelengths. This effect limits the quality of modulation by generating insertion and extinction ratio instabilities, optical input power limitation, fast drift, …

It is for that reason iXblue designs all its near infrared modulators based on a X-cut crystal and processes the optical waveguide using Annealed Proton Exchange on specific LiNbO₃ substrate.

Based on this new design, and after several long runs of qualification, iXblue is now offering outstanding performances with higher optical input power handling capability: up to 300 mW @1064 nm, up to 50 mW @850 nm, up to 20 mW @780 nm.

In addition to this new performance, iXblue is still offering by selection low insertion loss components. This makes iXblue phase modulators NIR-MPX & NIR-MPX800 and amplitude modulators NIR-LN & NIR-MX800-LN the best candidates for high output power modulated signal solutions using LiNbO₃ waveguide technology.

Output power stability from NIR-MX at 300 mW input power

Lower Vπ modulators

iXblue developed a new design of RF electrodes which optimizes the electro-optical efficiency on X-cut phase modulators. The well-known half-wave voltage parameter Vπ is reduced by a factor of two compared to the previous version.

Lower Vπ modulator is usually required for higher spectrum broadening modulation efficiency. iXblue today introduces a new NIR-MPX-LN-02 with a modulation bandwidth up to 3 GHz and a Vπ  < 2 V. Such new modulator will generate a higher numbers of side bands than any other phase modulators available on the market, with still the capability to handle an input CW optical signal of 300 mW.

Vpi vs frequency from the NIR-MPX-LN-02

Wider EO-Bandwidth modulator

As a planar structure device, one of the key benefits of the LiNbO₃ modulator is its wide electro-optical bandwidth efficiency. Thus, optical pulses coming with fast rise and fall times can be generated. iXblue developed a 40 GHz amplitude modulator, the NIR-MX-LN-40.

The wider electro-optic bandwidth allows the NIR-MX-40 and the NIR-MX800-LN-20 amplitude modulators to generate ultra-short sub-ns optical pulses with very short rise times (on the order of a few picoseconds): pulses width as low as 30 ps with a typical rise time of 7 ps.

For Square or arbitrary waveforms pulses, with Very high pulse contrast and Fast rise and fall times, iXblue amplitude modulators is your answer for all applications requiring optical signal optimizations.

Optical pulse generated from a NIR-MX-LN-40