Pockels effect of silicate glass-ceramics: Observation of optical modulation in Mach-Zehnder system

Abstract

Silicate glass has been used for long time because of its advantages from material's viewpoint. In this paper, we report the observation of Pockels effect by Mach-Zehnder interferometer in polycrystalline ceramics made from a ternary silicate glass via crystallization due to heat-treatment, i.e., glass-ceramics. Since the silicate system is employed as the precursor, merits of glass material are fully utilized to fabricate the optical device component, in addition to that of functional crystalline material, leading us to provide an electro-optic device, which is introducible into glass-fiber network.