Intrinsic optical modulation mechanism in electro-optic crystals

An intrinsic mechanism of optical intensity modulation occurring in electro-optic devices such as field sensors and modulators under applied fields is described. The optical modulation results from interactions between internally generated Fizeau interference patterns and electro-optic effects within the nonlinear crystal. Our results indicate that when phase matched with the conventional polarimetric signal, the intrinsic modulation mechanism can nearly double device sensitivity. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.