Polarisation-insensitive strip-loaded waveguide for electro-optic modulators and switches

A polarisation-insensitive electro-optic (EO) waveguide consisting of a dye-doped TiO2/SiO2 slab and a SU-8 strip-loaded rib is designed and fabricated. By optimizing the refractive index and size of waveguide, a trade-off between polarisation-insensitive condition and large EO efficiency (optical field interaction with the EO material) is obtained. The average transmission loss of the waveguide is less than 2.0 dB/cm. A Mach–Zehnder (M–Z) interferometer intensity modulator based on this waveguide with excellent poling stability is fabricated and measured, exhibiting 7 V half-wave voltage with 1.8 cm EO interaction length and 2.7 cm total length. This strip-loaded structure is proved to be a valuable application in EO modulators and switches.