Electrooptic Light Modulation in Poled Azo-Dye-Substituted Polymer Waveguides

The DC electrooptic modulation of 0.633-µm He-Ne laser light has been measured in thin-film waveguides of copolymers containing Disperse Red-1 (DR1) and/or novel dis-azo-dye side chains. The polarized laser light is butt-coupled to the polymer waveguides with propagation length of 4 mm and film thickness of 10-15 µm. The DC linear electrooptic coefficients r33 of the poled DR1- and dis-azo-dye-substituted polymer films are estimated to be 18 pm/V and 27 pm/V at 0.633 µm. Comparison with second-harmonic generation results demonstrates that the DC linear electrooptic effect in the poled azo-dye-substituted polymers is primarily electronic in nature.