Simple Reflection Measurement of Nonlinear Optical Activity Using Silicon as an Electrode

Future generations of photonic devices which incorporate poled organic nonlinear optical materials may be aided by, or require the use of non-traditional electrodes. This report details the integration of highly doped silicon as one of the poling/modulating electrodes in the simple reflection type experiment for determination of nonlinear optical activity in a guest-host polymer system. The measurements illustrate that the behavior of doped-silicon and the traditional indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass electrodes are analogous. Results demonstrate both successful poling and subsequent modulation of NLO materials using a silicon electrode, including the calculation of r ₃₃ values comparable or exceeding those achieved using a standard ITO electrode.