Charge transfer interactions in polymers and the fabrication of high frequency electro-optic modulators

The synthesis and processing of second order nonlinear optical polymeric materials for application in electro-optic devices is described with particular emphasis on (1) the synthesis and incorporation into hardened polymer lattices of chromophores characterized by large μβ (where μ is the dipole moment and β is the molecular first hyperpolarizability) values; (2) the synthesis and incorporation into hardened polymer lattices of chromophores which are capable of undergoing photoinduced conformational changes and which can be processed by new multi-color photolithography techniques into buried channel active waveguides; and (3) the processing of polymeric nonlinear optical materials appropriate for the realization of full integration with very large scale integration (VLSI) drive electronics and with silica fiber optic transmission lines. Prototype modulators have been fabricated and shown to be suitable for broadband operation from 0 to 113 GHz. Optical losses associated with waveguide wall roughness and with mode mismatch in transitioning between silica and polymeric waveguides are reduced by control of the conditions of reactive ion etching and by use of the new technique of multi-color photochemical lithography.