Simulation of a high speed interferometer optical modulator in polymer materials

In this work, the design and simulation of a high speed (300 GHz) electro-optic modulator operating at 1550-nm wavelength is presented. As electro-optic active material, a nonlinear optical polymer with highly nonlinear chromophores dispersed in an amorphous polycarbonate is used. Optimization of modulator geometrical structure and extraction of device performance parameters are obtained by 3D simulations. Finite Element Method has been exploited for the solution of Laplace equation to calculate the microwave properties of polymer-based modulator and to design its electrodes. The modeling procedure has been validated by comparison with experimental results presented in literature.