COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 7 -- Srico, a Columbus-based photonics company, was awarded a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to continue development for the US Air Force of an ultrahigh dynamic range modulated optical source based on a compact Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) intensity modulator. Modulators, which are key components in optical communication and sensor networks, turn light on and off to encode the information being sent through a network. During the SBIR Phase I preliminary development, Srico said it set a world-record 66-dB extinction ratio for an optical modulator, a ratio of about 4 million to 1. The modulator device is capable of integration onto a larger optical chip containing 256 channels. The company said the technology developed for this SBIR program will be used to develop commercial electro-optic modulator components with very high extinction ratio and low drive voltage that operate over a broad spectral range. Sri Sriram, president and founder of Srico, said the contract will enable Srico to develop a unique platform technology for surveillance activities. Srico makes integrated optical waveguide components and optoelectronic subsystems for communication and sensor networks. Its products incluce electro-optic modulators, optical wavelength switches, analog fiber optic links, and photonic sensors that detect and measure electric field, current and voltage. For more information, visit: www.srico.com