Advancements in conductive cladding materials for nonlinear optic polymer based optoelectronic devices

We have investigated various conductive and non-conductive polymers suitable for use as cladding layers in nonlinear optic (NLO) polymer based opto-electronic devices. Our goal was to maximize the nonlinearity of the core material, minimize the total poling voltage, and minimize the absorption loss. Using a cladding material that is more conductive than the NLO core material, the majority of the applied poling voltage is dropped across the core, realizing a maximum EO coefficient with minimum applied voltage. We found, however, that there are tradeoffs between absorption loss, conductivity, refractive index, materials processability and materials compatibility when using off-the-shelf materials.