It seems this device would be the perfect modulator for an all photonic router between fiber optic cables.
In this scheme, signal charge from a detector may be applied directly to the electrodes of the modulator.
Word Origin and History for modulator
n.
c.1500, from Latin modulator, literally "one who modulates" in various senses (e.g. "musical director"), agent noun from past participle stem of modulari (see modulation). Meaning "device that produces modulation of a wave" is from 1919.