Design and application of ultrafast KD*P electrooptic modulators

Since the pioneering work by Kaminow1 and others in the early Sixties, there has been a continuing interest in obtaining broadband low power microwave light modulators for a number of applications, ranging from optical communication and data processing systems2 to active Q switching and mode-locking of lasers.3 The work reported here was prompted by the fast pulse amplitude and phase control requirements of high-power laser fusion experiments and their associated diagnostics, where it is desirable, often mandatory, to perform optical gating or temporal pulse shaping operations in the sub-100-psec range. In this paper, we consider the problem of designing and constructing ultrafast electrooptic (EO) modulator devices capable of producing optical transmission risetimes shorter than 100 psec.