Lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate electro-optic modulators fabricated using aerosol deposition for LSI interconnects

We developed lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT), electro-optic modulators using aerosol deposition (AD). AD of complex oxide films on Si substrates is achievable, leading to the possible integration of these modulators into semiconductor integrated circuits. Polarization was measured in PLZT optical waveguides that were 1.8μm in width, and ferroelectric hysteresis loops were observed. Mach- Zehnder interferometer (MZI) PLZT modulators were demonstrated with 500-μm-length electrodes, and the insertion loss of the MZI modulators changed with applied electric field. Their change in insertion loss exhibited hysteresis loops, which were comparable to their ferroelectric ones. We obtained a 2-GHz optical output signal with a relevant bias voltage.