LNOI-Based Photonic Integrated Spatial Mode Controller With Reflective Structure

Optical signal processing chips modulate optical signals in synchronously all-optical networks and have recently become a research hotspot. We demonstrated a photonic integrated spatial mode controller on z-cut thin-film lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI). The proposed spatial mode controller integrates a 100-channel arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), 21 electrically controlled phase and amplitude modulators, and a total reflector array. The fabricated integrated chip exhibited a narrow channel interval of about 50 pm. The measured response time of the amplitude modulator based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is less than 0.2 μs with a typical voltage product V π L of 13 V*cm. The proposed spatial mode controller has proven waveform-shaping ability, thus offering a new platform for optical arbitrary waveform generators (OWAGs).