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Optoelectronics

Fig. 13.14
A phase shifter relying on the change ofdielectric constant caused by the
applied voltage.
Ti indiffused waveguide

I-iNbO- substrate

slorv. Nevertheless, it is a very promising technique. so I must -pive at least an introduction to its basic precepts.

13.7.1 Waveguides
The principle is very simple. If a material exhibiting a certain index of refiaction is surrounded by a material of lower index of retiaction. then a wave may be

guided in the former material by successive total internal ref'lections. Optical fibres (mentioned before) represent one such possibility tbr guiding r'vaves. but that is not suitable for integrated optics. We can horvever rely on the fact that the refractive index of GaAs is higher than that of AlGaAs and, consequently, a GaAs layer grown on the top of AlGaAs u'ill serve as a \\'aveguide. As may be seen in Table 13.2, GaAs is an electro-optic crystal. it is also suitable for producing junction lasers, microwave oscillators. and transistors. Thus. altogetheq GaAs seems to be the ideal material for integrated optics. Well, it rs indeed the ideal material, but the problems of integration have not as yet been soived. It is still very much at the laboratory stage. Nearer to commercial application are the LiNbOl devices. rvhich I shall describe in more detail. In these devices the waveguides are produced by indiffusing Ti into a LiNbOg substrate through appropriately patterned masks (the same kind of photolithography we met in Section 9.22 when discussing integrated circuits). Where Ti is indiffi.rsed the refractive index increases sulficiently to form a waveguide.

13.7.2

Phase shifter

Considering that LiNbO: is electro-optic, we may construct a simple device. using two electrodes on the surface of the crystal on either side of the waveguide, and apply a voltage to it as shown in Fig. 13.14. With a voltage Vs, we may create an electric held roughly equal to Vsld, where d is the distance between the electrodes. Hence, the total phase difference that can be