2025/11/04 by Liu, Jikun, Liu, Weiye, Wu, Wei +13
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Photonic Communication Systems #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic and Optical Devices #Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2511.02202
openalex publication_date 2025/11/04 · openalex created_date 2025/11/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Electro-optic modulators (EOMs) are vital for optical imaging and information processing, with free-space devices enabling LiDAR and beam control. Lithium niobate (LN), powered by the strong Pockels effect and scalable LN-on-insulator (LNOI) platform, has become a leading material for high-performance EOMs. Here we realize a vertical-cavity EOM in which an LN membrane is sandwiched between two photonic crystal (PhC) mirrors with integrated electrodes. The cavity supports sharp defect-mode resonances that shift efficiently under the Pockels effect, enabling strong modulation of transmission. Experiments show a depth of 43 % at 50 V and a bandwidth of 5 MHz. This architecture combines free-space compatibility with fabrication simplicity, opening new routes to compact electro-optic platforms for ranging, holography, and beam steering.