Efficient electro-optical modulation on thin-film lithium niobate.

Thin-film lithium niobate has emerged as an excellent, multifaceted platform for integrated photonics and opto-electronics, in both classical and quantum domains. We introduce a novel, to the best of our knowledge, dual-capacitor electrode layout for an efficient interface between electrical and optical signals on this platform. It significantly enhances the electro-optical modulation efficiency to an exceptional voltage-length product of 0.64⋅, thereby lowering the required electric power by many times. This technique can boost the performance of growing applications at the interface of integrated electronics and optics, such as microwave photonics, frequency comb generation, and telecommunication transmission.