Efficient wafer-scale poling of electro-optic polymer thin films on soda-lime glass substrates: large second-order nonlinear coefficients and exceptional homogeneity of optical birefringence

We demonstrate a simple protocol for repeatable and efficient contact poling of guest-host electro-optic (EO) polymer thin films over large areas on soda-lime glass substrates. The poled large-area (up to 13.5 cm²) thin films in this study exhibit very large second-order nonlinear susceptibilities (d₃₃ values of 330-520 pm/V) for second-harmonic generation (SHG) and associated large Pockels coefficients (r₃₃ values of 105-180 pm/V) at the wavelength of 1.3 m. The poling protocol also produced poled EO thin films with excellent optical homogeneity and large positive birefringence with small variation (~10^-3) of refractive indices over the poled large areas. The study suggests a viable and scalable path towards the realization of integrated photonics based on pre-poled thin films of high performance EO polymers. © 2017 Optical Society of America