Nonlocal Modulation of Entangled Photons

We consider ramifications of the use of high speed light modulators to questions of correlation and measurement of time-energy entangled photons. Using phase modulators, we find that temporal modulation of one photon of an entangled pair, as measured by correlation in the frequency domain, may be negated or enhanced by modulation of the second photon. Using amplitude modulators we describe a Fourier technique for measurement of biphoton wave functions with slow detectors

Wave-Coupled W-Band LiNbO_3 Mach-Zehnder Modulator

Summary form only given. Mach-Zehnder amplitude modulators have been designed for W-band operation (94 GHz), at a 1.3-μm optical wavelength. These modulators use bow-tie antennas, which are relatively insensitive to DC bias connections made to the ends of the antenna elements. The bow-ties should also give a greater bandwidth than the dipole antennas

Wavelength-Diverse Polarization Modulators for Stokes Polarimetry

Information about the three-dimensional structure of solar magnetic fields is encoded in the polarized spectra of solar radiation by a host of physical processes. To extract this information, solar spectra must be obtained in a variety of magnetically sensitive spectral lines at high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution with high precision. The need to observe many different spectral lines drives the development of Stokes polarimeters with a high degree of wavelength diversity. We present a new paradigm for the design of polarization modulators that operate over a wide wavelength range with near optimal polarimetric efficiency and are directly applicable to the next generation of multi-line Stokes polarimeters. These modulators are not achromatic in the usual sense because their polarimetric properties vary with wavelength, but they do so in an optimal way. Thus we refer to these modulators as polychromatic. We present here the theory behind polychromatic modulators, illustrate the concept with design examples, and present the performance properties of a prototype polychromatic modulator.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Optic

Nanomechanical optical devices fabricated with aligned wafer bonding

This paper reports on a new method for making some types of integrated optical nanomechanical devices. Intensity modulators as well as phase modulators were fabricated using several silicon micromachining techniques, including chemical mechanical polishing and aligned wafer bonding. This new method enables batch fabrication of the nanomechanical optical devices, and enhances their performance

Silicon optical modulators

Optical technology is poised to revolutionise short reach interconnects. The leading candidate technology is silicon photonics, and the workhorse of such interconnect is the optical modulator. Modulators have been improved dramatically in recent years. Most notably the bandwidth has increased from the MHz to the multi GHz regime in little more than half a decade. However, the demands of optical interconnect are significant, and many questions remain unanswered as to whether silicon can meet the required performance metrics. Minimising metrics such as the energy per bit, and device footprint, whilst maximising bandwidth and modulation depth are non trivial demands. All of this must be achieved with acceptable thermal tolerance and optical spectral width, using CMOS compatible fabrication processes. Here we discuss the techniques that have, and will, be used to implement silicon optical modulators, as well as the outlook for these devices, and the candidate solutions of the future