Effect of divergence of light wave and alignment of crystal on the response of electro-optic modulators

Abstract

In this work we report on numerical investigations of the effect of the light beam divergence or imperfect crystal alignment on the response of electrooptic modulators. Resulting non linearities are discussed both in terms of nonlinear distortion of modulators and as related to errors in measurements of quadratic electrooptic coefficients. Our calculations based on the Jones calculus have been performed for uniaxial crystals including KDP, and its isomorphs, and LiNbO3. The results obtained confirm that either the response of the modulators or results of electrooptic measurements can be significantly affected by the light divergence or imperfections in the crystals alignment.