Hoechst Celanese Corporation

Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.

Ronald N De Martino

Hyun-Nam Yoon

John I Thackara

George F Lipscomb

James B Stamatoff

Hyun Nam Yoon

A three-dimensional electro-optic waveguide is formed as a channel in a structure made of an organic non-linear optical polymer. A poling electric field is maintained in a portion of the polymer structure defining the channel, and the polymer structure is heated above the glass-transition temperature to enable dipolar moieties of the polymer to become aligned by the poling field. Heating continues until the dipolar moieties are sufficiently aligned to produce a higher index of refraction in the channel portion than in adjacent cladding portions of the polymer structure for at least one polarization of optical radiation propagating through the channel. The poling field is maintained as the polymer structure is then cooled below glass-transition temperature, thereby preserving alignment of the dipolar moieties (and hence preserving the differential index of refraction) in the channel portion of the polymer structure. Guided modes of optical radiation of at least one polarization can be supported in the channel.

Electro-optic channel waveguide

This invention provides novel sidechain liquid crystalline polymers which exhibit nonlinear response, and which have utility as a transparent nonlinear optical component in optical light switch and light modulator devices. An invention sidechain liquid crystalline polymer is illustrated by poly[4-(8-hydroxyoctyloxybenzylideneamino)-4'-nitrostilbene methacrylate]: ##STR1##

Side chain liquid crystalline polymers exhibiting nonlinear optical

This invention provides novel isotropic acrylic copolymers which exhibit nonlinear optical response, and which have utility as a transparent optical component in optical light switch and light modulator devices. An invention isotropic acrylic copolymer is illustrated by the following structure: ##STR1##

Growing community of inventors

Wayne, NJ, United States of America

Ronald N De Martino