Unprecedented highest electro-optic coefficient of 226 pm/V for electro-optic polymer/TiO2 multilayer slot waveguide modulators

• DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.027725
• Publication Date: 2014-10-31T17:36:03Z
• Authors: Y. Jouane; Y-C. Chang; D. Zhang; J. Luo; A. K-Y. Jen; Y. Enami
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 01 natural sciences

We investigated the electrical properties and optical quality of two layers a titanium dioxide (TiO2) selective layer and a sol-gel silica cladding layer for use as coating layers for nonlinear optic (NLO) polymers in electro-optic (EO) polymer/TiO2 multilayer slot waveguide modulators. We used a simple ellipsometric reflective technique developed by Teng and Man to measure the electro-optic (EO) coefficients of poled thin films of an EO polymer in an EO multilayer device. The Pockels coefficient was enhanced up to 226 and 198 pm/V at wavelengths of 1.31 and 1.55 μm, respectively, when optimally poled with TiO2 and a sol-gel silica cladding.