An electro-absorption modulator (EAM) is designed to optimize dynamic range performance over 20 GHz bandwidth. The single stripe waveguide enables an extremely compact and integrated package to be fabricated with single mode fiber pigtails. The transfer function's shape permits suppression of higher order intermodulation products, yielding a spur-free dynamic range exceeding that of Mach-Zehnder designs. A dilute optical core diverts energy flow from absorbing layers into a low loss waveguide; ...