Patent ID: 8081851

Claim:
An electro-optical high-index contrast waveguide component in which light is guided in lengthwise direction of the component, comprising: waveguide core means for guiding light in said lengthwise direction and having a high refractive index, cladding material having a lower refractive index than said waveguide core means, said cladding material extending along said lengthwise direction and surrounding said waveguide core means, said cladding material having at least partially electro-optical properties and interacting with the guided light, a first and a second electric conductive region which are at least partially optically transparent and extend adjacent to said waveguide core means over a length along said lengthwise direction which has at least a minimum length, wherein at least two of a group consisting of said first and second at least partially optically transparent electric conductive regions, said waveguide core means and parts thereof form at least a pair of a first and a second at least partially optically transparent electrode that extend along said lengthwise direction such that by applying voltage to said electrodes, an electric field is generated between said electrodes which modifies said optical properties of said electro-optical cladding material on an interaction length along said lengthwise direction, wherein said electric field has an overlap with the optical mode field in said electro-optical cladding material, and wherein said minimum length of said first and second at least partially optically transparent electric conductive regions in said lengthwise direction is at least so large that the time of said interaction between said electric field and said optical mode field within said interaction length is at least 0.1 picoseconds.