Wol-Yon Hwang

Poling-induced waveguide polarizers in electrooptic polymers

In order to demonstrate polymeric waveguide polarizers, photobleached polymer waveguides supporting both TE and TM modes are integrated with poling induced polymer waveguides that support either TE or TM modes. Fabrication parameters like UV exposures and poling voltages are controlled to reduce excess losses due to the mode profile mismatch between the connected waveguides. A TM-pass polarizer is realized by poling the polymer in the vertical direction. For TE-pass polarizer the polymer is poled horizontally by using four poling electrodes which enhance the uniformity of the poling field direction. The measured excess loss is less than 0.5 dB, and polarization extinction ratios for TM-pass and TE-pass polarizers are 20.7 dB and 17.1 dB, respectively.

Polymeric 2 x 2 electrooptic switch consisting of asymmetric Y junctions and Mach-Zehnder interferometer

2/spl times/2 electrooptic switches consisting of a pair of asymmetric Y junctions and Mach-Zehnder interferometer have been demonstrated in polymeric waveguides. The switching voltage is 15 V with 1.5 cm long electrode for TM polarized light at 1.3 /spl mu/m. When the branching angle of the asymmetric Y junction is 0.2/spl deg/, crosstalk of -27 to -22 dB are obtained for both input arms. The measured insertion loss by the lens coupling is about 9-10 dB.

High performance electro-optic polymer waveguide device

A high performance electro-optic polymer modulator is fabricated by utilizing a thermally curable cladding polymer. Half-wave modulation voltage as low as 3.7 and 4.8 V under 500 Hz operation is obtained with a 1.5 cm long electrode at wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 μm, respectively. The modulator also shows stable dc bias voltage to be traceable and low poling-induced optical loss. This work implies that proper selection of a cladding material is as important as the electro-optic materials in the electro-optic waveguide devices.

Wavelength insensitive passive polarization converter fabricated by poled polymer waveguides

A passive TE to TM polarization mode converter is fabricated by using poled polymer waveguides. The optic axis of the poling induced waveguide is slowly rotated 90° by using a slowly varying structure of poling electrodes. Thus the polarization conversion is achieved as the guided mode propagates through the waveguide. TE to TM mode conversion is observed with a polarization extinction ratio higher than 30 dB, and the excess loss is less than 1 dB. The polarization conversion is relatively insensitive to wavelength since the device contains no periodic structures. These devices are easier to fabricate than others containing periodic structures.

TE-TM mode converter in a poled-polymer waveguide

A novel active TE-TM mode converter in a poled electrooptic polymer waveguide is demonstrated. The mode converter utilizes a 45/spl deg/-off poling configuration, which can be obtained by arranging upper- and lower-stripe poling electrodes with a proper lateral displacement. The mode-conversion properties and electrooptic effect are demonstrated by using a vector-beam propagation method in a buried channel-type waveguide. Applications to integrated polymer-waveguide devices are also suggested.

POSTPHOTOBLEACHING METHOD FOR THE CONTROL OF COUPLING CONSTANT IN AN ELECTRO-OPTIC POLYMER DIRECTIONAL COUPLER SWITCH

A method to control the coupling constant of a directional coupler switch made of electro‐optic polymer after completing the device fabrication is demonstrated. The method utilizes the selective postphotobleaching of the gap region to lower its effective refractive index while monitoring optical output power from each arm. The output power changes gradually and the crossover states are successively observed as the postphotobleaching proceeds. It is shown that the method can be utilized to tune the initial output to the crossover state to have a good switching extinction.

ORIGIN OF DIRECT CURRENT DRIFT IN ELECTRO-OPTIC POLYMER MODULATOR

Characteristics of the dc drift phenomenon in electro-optic polymer modulators have been analyzed. It is found that the dc drift originates from the difference between the dielectric relaxation times of the guiding and cladding layers. The dc drift is accelerated as the intensity of the guided light increases. Furthermore, it becomes faster when the device is exposed to visible light. The effect of the guided light and visible light on the dc drift is interpreted in terms of the photoconductivity of the guiding layer.

N × N polymer matrix switches using thermo-optic total-internal-reflection switch.

We have developed fully non-blocking optical matrix switches using a thermo-optic polymer 1 × 2 total-internal-reflection (TIR) switch as a unit switching element. The TIR switch consists of crossed multimode polymer waveguides and an offset heater electrode at the switching node. The fabricated 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 optical matrix switch chips show excellent switching performances. The insertion losses are less than 2.5 and 4.5 dB for the 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 matrix switches, respectively, and their switching isolations during a turned-off state are higher than 38 dB. The switching time is about 3 ms, and the power consumption for each switching element is below 30 mW. Compact integration of the 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 switch chips is achieved at sizes of 25 mm × 4.25 mm, and 42.4 mm × 5 mm, respectively, through an optimization of the waveguide and heater geometries.

Fabrication of a TFF-Attached WDM-Type Triplex Transceiver Module Using Silica PLC Hybrid Integration Technology

An optical triplex transceiver (TRx) module, which consists of thin-film filter (TFF)-attached wavelength-division multiplexer (WDM) and photodiode (PD) carriers, has been fabricated using a silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC) hybrid integration technology. Two types of TFFs were attached to a diced sidewall of a silica-terraced PLC platform to realize the TFF-attached WDM. The PD carriers with a 45deg mirror, on which receiving surface-illuminated PDs were bonded, were assembled with the PLC platform to form receiver (Rx) parts. As the main performances of the packaged TRx module, a very clear transmitter (Tx) eye pattern and minimum Rx sensitivity of -25.7 dBm were obtained under a 1.25-Gb/s Tx-Rx operation for digital applications. For an analog Rx application, a module responsivity of about 0.8 A/W was achieved, and a second-order intermodulation distortion value of less than -70 dBc at an optical modulation index of 40% was obtained under a two-tone test of 400 and 450 MHz

PHOTOCHEMICALLY FORMED REFRACTIVE INDEX PROFILES IN NONLINEAR OPTICAL POLYMER THIN FILMS

A simple but realistic kinetic model has been developed to describe the refractive index profile formed by photochemical reaction in nonlinear optical polymers. The effects of the absorption due to the unconvertible reactant and the photoproduct are included in the model. The experimental results are consistent with the model. The parameters required in the model are obtained from a simple transmission experiment. The rate of the bleached depth change with time becomes slower as the bleaching proceeds, while the shape of the index profile was kept nearly the same. Small absorption of bleaching light due to the photoproduct has a significant effect on the resulting refractive index profiles.