Search

Optical waveguide amplifiers based on polymer materials offer a low-cost alternative for inorganic waveguide amplifiers. Due to the fact that their refractive index is similar to that of standard optical fibers, they can be easily coupled to existing fibers with low coupling losses. Doping the polymer with rare-earth ions that yield optical gain is not straightforward, as the rare-earth salts are poorly soluble in the polymer matrix. This review article focuses on two different approaches to dope a polymer waveguide with rare-earth ions. The first approach is based on organic cage-like complexes that encapsulate the rare-earth ion and are designed to provide coordination sites to bind the rare-earth ion and to shield it from the surrounding matrix. These complexes also offer the possibility of attaching a highly absorbing antenna group, which increases the pump efficiency significantly. The second approach to fabricate rare-earth doped polymer waveguides is obtained by combining the excellent properties of SiO[sub 2] as a host for rare-earth ions with the easy processing of polymers. This is done by doping polymers with Er-doped silica colloidal spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the optical properties of erbium-doped organic polydentate cage complexes. Experimental procedure used; Details on the optical gain calculation; Results and discussion of the findings.

A laterally coupled microring resonator was fabricated by direct photodefinition of negative photoresist SU8, containing tricyanovinylidenediphenylaminobenzene chromophore, by exploiting the low ultraviolet absorption window of this chromophore. The ring resonator was first photodefined by slight cross-linking. Thereafter, poling (to align the chromophores) and further cross-linking (to increase the glass transition temperature) were simultaneously carried out. The material showed excellent photostability and the electro-optic modulation with an r33 of 11 pm/V was demonstrated at 10 MHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report 890 nm luminescence from a neodymium-doped polymer light-emitting diode. The active layer is a blend of poly(dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole), F8BT, and a lissamine-functionalized terphenyl-based neodymium complex. We detect electroluminescence from both the lissamine (580 nm) and the Nd[sup 3+] complex (890 nm). By comparison with lissamine-free devices we show that the lissamine is crucial to infrared emission. The neodymium/lissamine luminescence intensity ratio is higher under electrical excitation than under optical excitation, showing that more triplets reach Nd[sup 3+] under electrical excitation. High turn-on voltages provide a clear indication for charge trapping onto the lissamine, and we consider direct triplet formation on the lissamine to be competing efficiently with respect to slower Dexter-type triplet transfer from the F8BT to the lissamine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]