Integrated acousto-optic polarization converter in a ZX-cut LiNbO3 waveguide superlattice

We report an integrated acousto-optic polarization converter exploiting a novel surface acoustic superlattice (S-ASL) transducer. The S-ASL transducer is made of a ZX-cut periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal with uniform coplanar electrodes for surface acoustic wave (SAW) generation. For a PPLN period of 20 mu m the SAW is excited at an rf of about 190 MHz, while the phase matching occurs at an optical wavelength of around 1456 nm. The measured mode conversion efficiency of 90% at an input rf power of 1 W and the 3 dB optical bandwidth of 2.5 nm confirm the confinement of the SAW between the electrode gap and the constructive interaction along the whole 10 mm electrode length. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America