title: High-performance and linear thin-film lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulators on silicon up to 50  GHz.
abstract: Compact electro-optical modulators are demonstrated on thin films of lithium niobate on silicon operating up to 50 GHz. The half-wave voltage length product of the high-performance devices is 3.1 V.cm at DC and less than 6.5 V.cm up to 50 GHz. The 3 dB electrical bandwidth is 33 GHz, with an 18 dB extinction ratio. The third-order intermodulation distortion spurious free dynamic range is 97.3  dBHz2/3at 1 GHz and 92.6  dBHz2/3at 10 GHz. The performance demonstrated by the thin-film modulators is on par with conventional lithium niobate modulators but with lower drive voltages, smaller device footprints, and potential compatibility for integration with large-scale silicon photonics.
authors.forename: Ashutosh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Aniket
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rabiei
authors.forename: Amirmahdi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honardoost
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DeSalvo
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paolella
authors.forename: Sasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fathpour