The design, fabrication, and testing of a high speed traveling wave directional coupler modulator for a guide wavelength of 810 nm is described. Application to high speed diagnostic systems is discussed.

Integrated optics have the potential to replace conventional electronics in many instrumentation applications; in many cases the integrated-optics approach is the only one that will achieve the necessary bandwidth and information-density goals. Thus far, has been done to address the prompt hardness of these devices to intense ionizing-radiation fields. We present preliminary data on the response of optical directional coupler modulators (ODCMs) to radiation from a Febetron. The Febetron produces energetic electrons in the 300-700 keV range in tilde 3-ns FWHM pulses, with a maximum dose rate of tilde 1014 rad/s. The operation of the ODCM is monitored during and promptly after the Febetron pulse impinges the device. Long-term effets are also monitored. These data are analyzed with respect to the operation of such devipes in a harsh inonizing-radiation environment.