Thin-film lithium niobate electro-optic modulators: To etch or not to etch

This Perspective discusses and compares several different approaches to the design of high-bandwidth, low-voltage electro-optic devices, such as Mach–Zehnder modulators, made using thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) and strategies for their incorporation as part of a larger photonic integrated circuit (PIC).