Polymeric waveguides with bidirectional poling for radiation phase-matching

An optical waveguide which has a thin film laminated matrix comprising:

• (a) a substrate which supports a first electrode layer;
• (b) a dielectric buffer layer which is in coextensive proximity with the electrode layer;
• (c) a second electrode having a spatial periodic structure in proximity with the buffer layer;
• (d) a first thin film cladding of a polable side chain polymer in proximity with the second electrode layer and buffer layer;
• (e) a waveguiding medium layer of a polable side chain polymer in coextensive contact with the first cladding layer and with a higher refractive index than the cladding layer;
• (f) a second thin film cladding of a polable side chain polymer in coextensive contact with the waveguiding medium layer and with a lower refractive index than the waveguiding layer;
• and
• (g) a third electrode in proximity with the second thin film cladding;
• wherein the first and second electrodes are adapted to apply electric fields of opposite polarity in conjunction with the third electrode functioning as a zero potential ground electrode, and the waveguiding medium and thin film cladding polymers have a bidirectional poled molecular configuration of the polymer side chains and exhibit second order nonlinear optical susceptibility .chi..sup.(2), and have a radiation wave phase-matching coherence length about equal to the periodicity of the second electrode.

A method for fabricating an optical waveguide having a thin film laminated matrix which comprises:

• (a) forming a first electrode layer on a supporting substrate;
• (b) applying a dielectric buffer layer which is in coextensive proximity with the electrode layer;
• (c) forming a second electrode layer having a spatial periodic structure in proximity with the buffer layer;
• (d) forming a polable organic waveguiding medium layer in proximity with the second electrode layer and buffer layer;
• and
• (e) forming a third electrode layer in proximity with the organic waveguiding medium;
• wherein the first and second electrodes are adapted to apply electric fields of opposite polarity in conjunction with the third electrode functioning as a zero potential ground electrode, and the organic waveguiding medium is provided with a bidirectional poled molecular configuration and a radiation wave phase-matching coherence length about equal to the periodicity of the second electrode.