Electro-optic (EO) modulators are disclosed. The EO modulators include a substrate and an EO material layer disposed over the substrate. The EO material layer and the substrate provide an optical waveguide having an optical group velocity (OGV). The EO modulators also include electrodes disposed over the EO material layer to provide a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The CPW has a radio-frequency (RF) phase velocity, and the electrodes have a gap therebetween. The EO modulators also include a superstrate disposed over the EO material layer and configured to be raised and lowered, or disposed and removed to tune the RF phase velocity to be substantially the same as the OGV, wherein a space exists between the superstrate and the EO material.

An optical modulator includes a substrate having a main surface including a first area and a second area, an optical modulation portion disposed on the first area, and an optical waveguide portion disposed on the second area. The optical modulation portion includes a first mesa waveguide and an electrode connected to the first mesa waveguide. The first mesa waveguide includes a p-type semiconductor layer, a first core layer, and an n-type semiconductor layer. The optical waveguide portion includes a second mesa waveguide. The second mesa waveguide includes a first cladding layer, a second core layer, and a second cladding layer. The second core layer is optically coupled to the first core layer. The first cladding layer contains a p-type dopant and protons. The second cladding layer contains an n-type dopant.

A polymer modulator including a waveguide core defined over an insulating layer and having a first passive region including a light input, a second passive region including a light output, and an active region optically coupling the passive regions into a continuous waveguide core between the input and output. The waveguide core in the first and second passive regions including one of sol-gel and SiO.sub.2 surrounded by cladding including one of sol-gel and SiO.sub.2. The cladding in the passive regions having a first refractive index, the waveguide core in both regions having a second refractive index at least 0.01 higher than the first refractive index. The waveguide core in the active region including sol-gel, a cladding layer of sol-gel positioned between the insulating layer and the waveguide core, the refractive index of the waveguide core is at least 0.01 higher than the refractive index of the cladding layer.

To prevent deterioration in an extinction ratio due to asymmetry between a pair of optical waveguides.

An optical modulator has a Mach-Zehnder optical waveguide including mutually parallel first and second waveguides and a signal electrode for controlling the phase of light propagating in the Mach-Zehnder optical waveguide. The first and second waveguides have a first section in which the second waveguide has a line width smaller than that of the first waveguide and a second section in which the first waveguide has a line width smaller than that of the second waveguide. The first section and the second section are replaced with each other in curved parts.

There is provided an optical waveguide device including a substrate, an optical waveguide formed on the substrate, and a working electrode that controls a light wave propagating through the optical waveguide, in which the working electrode includes a first base layer made of a first material, and a first conductive layer on the first base layer, and a conductor pattern including a second base layer made of a second material different from the first material and a second conductive layer on the second base layer is formed in a region other than a path from an input end to an output end of the optical waveguide, in a region on the substrate.

There is provided an optical waveguide device including: a substrate; an optical waveguide formed on the substrate; and a working electrode that controls a light wave propagating through the optical waveguide, in which the working electrode includes a first base layer made of a first material, a first conductive layer on the first base layer, a second base layer made of a second material different from the first material, which is on the first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer on the second base layer, and an edge of the second base layer is covered with the second conductive layer, in a cross-section perpendicular to an extending direction of the optical waveguide.

Disclosed are an optical modulation device and a phase modulation method using the same. The optical modulation device includes a reflection plate, an insulating film over the reflection plate, dielectric patterns aligned on the insulating film in a first direction and extended in parallel in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and first and second graphene patterns provided between the dielectric patterns and alternately aligned in the first direction. The dielectric patterns and the first and second graphene patterns fully cover the top of the insulating film. Two dielectric patterns adjacent to each other in the first direction with one of the first graphene patterns interposed therebetween form one dielectric pattern pair. The dielectric pattern pair is provided in plural. The dielectric pattern pairs are isolated from each other in the first direction with one of the second graphene patterns interposed therebetween. A width of each of the first graphene patterns in the first direction is different from a width of each of the second graphene patterns in the first direction.

Provided are an optical modulating device and a system including the optical modulating device. The optical modulating device includes a substrate, and a phase modulator formed on the substrate and including a Fabry-Perot cavity. The Fabry-Perot cavity of the phase modulator includes a first reflective layer, a second reflective layer, and a tunable core formed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer, wherein the tunable core is formed of a semiconductor material and is configured to modulate a phase of light corresponding to modulation of a refractive index of the tunable core according to electrical control.

Provided are an optical modulating device and a system including the optical modulating device. The optical modulating device includes a substrate, and a phase modulator formed on the substrate and including a Fabry-Perot cavity. The Fabry-Perot cavity of the phase modulator includes a first reflective layer, a second reflective layer, and a tunable core formed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer, wherein the tunable core is formed of a semiconductor material and is configured to modulate a phase of light corresponding to modulation of a refractive index of the tunable core according to electrical control.

An optical beam combiner circuit includes a plurality of branch portions configured to divide optical beams output from a plurality of input waveguides, a combiner unit configured to combine optical beams, each of the optical beams being one of the divided optical beams obtained by one of the plurality of branch portions, an output waveguide configured to output an optical beam obtained by the combiner unit combining the optical beams, a plurality of monitoring waveguides configured to output optical beams, each of the optical beams being another of the divided optical beams obtained by one of the plurality of branch portions, and a plurality of light-blocking grooves provided on both sides with respect to each input waveguide, the plurality of light-blocking grooves being positioned to enable stray light not coupled to the plurality of input waveguides to be reflected toward an end surface different from an exit end surface of each monitoring waveguide and also different from an exit end surface of the output waveguide.