Compact Lithium Niobate Electrooptic Modulators

Lithium niobate (LN), spurred by its success for fiber-optic communications, has remained the material of choice for high-performance electrooptic (EO) modulators. The past decade has seen a surge in efforts aimed at miniaturizing LN EO modulators with higher order modulation formats, data centers, and optical interconnect applications in mind. The state-of-the-art of these compact modulators, with a focus on fabrication, design, and high-speed performance is reviewed. Guidelines for design optimization and key performance metrics of these important integrated photonic devices are presented. Furthermore, an outlook on the road toward commercial viability, along with potential novel applications is provided.