Abstract

Organic and polymeric nonlinear optical materials constitute a new class of materials for device applications. One of their unique features is the diversity of different molecular compounds that can be synthesized with differing nonlinear optical activities and transparencies. The molecules can be packed in a variety of noncentrosymmetric structures, such as crystals, poled polymers, and Langmuir-Blodgett films. They are also potentially more advantageous than inorganic materials because of their high nonresonant optical susceptibilities and low dielectric constants. Recent advances have been made in organic-based devices with glassy poled polymer films owing to their relative ease of fabrication by spin coating. Electro-optic Mach-Zehnder modulators and directional couplers with low switching voltages have been fabricated. Phase-matched second-harmonic generation in polymer waveguides has also been demonstrated. New organic crystals with very high nonlinear susceptibilities have also been reported for frequency doubling. Some of the key issues that will determine the future usefulness of these new materials is their environmental stability in the presence of light and high temperature; the integrability of organic materials with inorganic-based components, such as glass optical fiber, wafer substrates, lasers, and detectors; and finally, the development of a manufacturing technology that is both highly precise and relatively inexpensive.

© 1990 Optical Society of America