SBIR-STTR Award

Pacific Wave Industries proposes to systematically improve the thermal stability of our previously engineered electro-optic (EO) polymers. The proposed high mb chromophore-incorporated EO polymers are based upon chromophore monomers or dimers modified with multiple bulky side groups that are functionalized with trifluorovinylethers. The bulky groups help increase the molecular weight to such a level that solutions of the resulting monomer or dimer can be directly spin-cast into optical quality films. The trifluorovinylethers (TFVEs) can undergo thermal cyclization reaction and therefore serve to crosslink the films at elevated temperatures. Our recently developed fabrication techniques will allow for rapid device implementations of the new materials in the form of Mach-Zehnder modulators with electrical bandwidths up to 60 GHz, low half-wave voltages, low optical losses, and good power handling capabilities. The utilization of these new materials in complex structures, performing single side band modulation and RF frequency phase shifting, are planned for the future stages of this effort.

Pacific Wave Industries proposes to systematically increase resistivity of EO polymer (CX series) while maintaining the already achieved high thermal stability and low optical loss. The goal is to obtain an EO polymer having a resistivity two order of magnitude lower than that of existing cladding materials. Following strategies have been designed to increase resistivity: a) Reduce the number of freely rotating single bonds in monomers, b) Reduce the amount of flexible pendant groups on chromophore to decrease thermal energy of chromophore, and c) Introduce more highly polar groups to increase static interactions. To compensate for the loss in thermal stability, we will reduce the number of freely rotating single bonds in monomers and the amount of flexible pendant groups on chromophore to decrease thermal energy of chromophore, and introduce more highly polar groups to increase static interactions. With increased core layer resistivity, poling efficiency and DC bias stability will be improved, and the tolerance on cladding material will be larger in terms of resistivity.

Keywords:
Polymer, Chromophore, Electro-Optic Coefficient, High Temperature Stability, Cladding Material, Conductivity