Pirelli & C. S. P. A.

Enos Gombia

Andrea Zappettini

Silvia Maria Pietralunga

An electro-optic (EO) device having a high-resistivity semiconducting crystal and a method of operating such a device. The local shielding of the externally applied field lowers the EO effect, which can be partially or completely inhibited particularly in the low-frequency regime, i.e., less than about 10Hz. By holding a high-resistivity semiconducting crystal at a suitable temperature, EO response and efficiency are improved, in particular for light signals that are non-modulated or modulated at low frequencies. Preferably, the temperature at which the semiconducting crystal is held during functioning is between 50 and 150&#xb0; C. Enhancement of the EO effect has been demonstrated also for EO devices operating at relatively large optical powers, i.e., larger than about 0.1 mW.

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Reggio Emilia, Italy

Enos Gombia