A schematic diagram of the MO modulator is shown in Fig. 1. The MO active layer is a 4.5 μm (Y0.6Bi0.4LuPr)3(FeGa)5O12 film that has been grown on a 450-μm thick (1 1 1)-oriented gadolinium gallium garnet substrate by means of liquid-phase epitaxy. The MO film has an in-plane magnetization with a saturation value (μ0Ms) of 9 mT and a specific [[Faraday rotation]] of 5400°/cm at 800 nm. A linearly polarized optical beam from an 800 nm [[laser diode]] is focused and edge-coupled to the thin film waveguide. At this wavelength the optical absorption of the MO film is 400 cm−1 and, therefore, the length of the device is designed to be 60 μm. On the surface of the Bi-YIG film, a 50-Ω terminated microstrip transmission line is patterned and used to carry the high-speed electrical signals, I(t). The current transient creates a time-varying magnetic field that has a component, bz(t), along the direction of optical propagation. This component (underneath the microstrip line) acts to tip the magnetization, M, along the propagation direction of the optical beam. A static in-plane magnetic field, by, is applied perpendicular to the light propagation direction, thus ensuring the return of M to its initial orientation after the passage of the current transient. Depending on the component of the magnetization along the z-direction, Mz, the optical beam experiences a rotation of its polarization due to the Faraday effect. The polarization modulation is converted into an intensity modulation via a polarization analyzer, which is detected by a high-speed [[photodiode]].
