Smaller, faster and more efficient modulator sets to revolutionize optoelectronic industry

A research team comprising members from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Harvard University and a renowned information technologies laboratory has successfully fabricated a tiny on-chip lithium niobate modulator, an essential component for the optoelectronic industry. The modulator is smaller, more efficient with faster data transmission, and costs less. The technology is set to revolutionise the industry.

The electro-optic modulator produced in this breakthrough research is only 1 to 2 cm long and its surface area is about 100 times smaller than traditional ones. It is also highly efficient—higher data transmission speed with data bandwidth tripling from 35 GHz to 100 GHz, but with less energy consumption and ultra-low optical losses. The invention will pave the way for future high-speed, low power and cost-effective communication networks as well as quantum photonic computation.

The research project is titled "Integrated lithium niobate electro-optic modulators operating at CMOS-compatible voltages," and was published in the latest issue of Nature.