Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of Performance of Plzt Electro-Optic Modulator

In this paper the design, fabrication and the testing of PLZT Electro-optic modulator and its application in optical communication is discussed.The PLZT which stands for the Lead Lanthanum Zirconate Titanate Pbi-xLaxZrm' Tin)03, is obtained by doping Lead Zirconate Titanate with La. The PLZT ceramic is itself a solid solution of Lead Titanate and Lead Zirconate. Using this material, an Electro-optic (EO) modulator has been designed, fabricated and tested. The mode of operation is transverse. Using this device, the half-wave retardation voltage (&Vpi;) is measured as a function of electrode spacing and also the frequency response of the material.Half-wave voltage was found to be proportional to the electrodes spacing d). Material responded without attenuation upto 1 MHz. A prototype laser communication system was made and tested for the two-way voice/music communication.