Novel solid-state spatial light modulator on integrated circuits for high-speed application with electro-optic thin film

Abstract

Novel solid-state spatial light modulator (SLM) is developed by using an electro-optic thin film technology. The use of solgel technique makes it possible to fabricate optically smooth 800nm-thick lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films. It shows large electro-optic effects ∆n=0.02 with the fastest switching response of 12ns that have ever been reported. The prototype 180x180 SLM array on 5mm x 5mm-size chip demonstrates 2-dimmensional displays with the three primary colors.

Optimization of Pb Content in a Precursor Solution for the Fabrication of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3Films for Optical Applications by Chemical Solution Deposition

“…Ferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PLZT) films have attracted much attention for the applications to optical devices such as waveguides [1,2], modulators [3,4] and tunable photonic crystals [5]. In case of bulk ceramics, La content is frequently adjusted to be 8-9% for optical applications because of high transparency and large electrooptic coefficients [6].…”

Electrooptic and Piezoelectric Properties of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 Films with Various Zr/Ti Ratios

“…Ferroelectric materials have unique optical properties such as the electrooptic effect and nonlinear optical effect, and have already been applied in stand-alone optical devices such as an optical shutter, [1][2][3][4] a second-harmonic generator [5][6][7] and an optical associative memory. [8][9][10] If ferroelectric materials were embedded with semiconductor integrated circuits, novel optical devices such as a spatial light modulator of the electrooptic type (EO-SLM) 11) and a tunable photonic crystal 12) would be realized. In the EO-SLM, the interference of lights is utilized to modulate light intensity.…”

La Content Dependence of Electrooptic Properties of Polycrystalline (Pb,La)(Zr0.65,Ti0.35)O3 Thick Films

“…[8][9][10] If ferroelectric materials were embedded with semiconductor integrated circuits, novel optical devices, such as an ultrafast optical switch array and a holographic display, would be realized. [11][12][13][14][15][16] In this case, a transparent ferroelectric material even in the form of polycrystalline with a random orientation is required, because a ferroelectric film must be grown on a bottom electrode film with a texture structure, not epitaxally grown. (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PLZT) is the most attractive candidate for such use, because it has a high transparency in the form of polycrystalline.…”