Abstract

Recent developments in the design and fabrication of high-frequency electro-optical modulators using novel materials are now pushing the limits of commercial high-speed photodetectors and the available microwave packaging and testing equipment. We have made stable high-speed electro-optic phase modulators by using a cross-linked nonlinear optical polymer, and we have tested them by using external microwave mixers up to 40 GHz. Above this frequency, our commercial photodetectors begin to degrade and the conversion loss of microwave mixers starts to increase. Although higher-speed photodetectors are available as research devices, commercially available systems cannot fully take advantage of the bandwidth of these devices.

© 1995 Optical Society of America