Abstract

The figure of merit for a nonlinear waveguide device is defined by the nonlinear refractiveindex change and the propagation losses. The device must be operated at a wavelength where on the one hand the nonlinear effect is as high as possible and on the other hand the propagation losses are low in order to take advantage of the accumulating nonlinear phase change along the waveguide. The task is to find the best operation wavelength for the device made of a certain material. For that reason we have now started to make investigations in the wavelength range from 0.7 -1.0 μm with respect to both, the nonlinear χ⁽³⁾ values and the absorption a (one and two photon absorption). In this paper we report on the results at λ > 900 nm for poly (1,4-phenylene-1,2- di(4-methoxy- pheny) vinylene), DMOP-PPV, a new conjugated polymer of the widely studied PPV-series (see figure 1).

© 1995 Optical Society of America