Nove Electro-Optic Polymers for In-Line Fiber Photonic Devices

Polymeric in-line fiber (PILF) devices open up a new region of parameter space for electro-optic (EO) polymer materials development. The short interaction length characteristic of PILF devices makes it possible to use resonant enhancement to greatly boost the achievable EO response. Optivision, wit the University of Chicago and the University of California at Davis as key subcontractors, proposes the development of novel high-temperature-stable resonantly-enhanced EO polyimide materials with properties optimized for PILF device applications. The effort will take advantage of established Optivison expertise in PILF device design and testing, University of Chicago expertise in the synthesis of high-temperature-stable soluble aromatic EO polymer processing and characterization. In the proposed effort, we will investigate: (1) scaled-up synthesis of known EO polyimide materials; (2) processing and characterization methodologies for EO polyimides; (3) device level testing of EO polyimides using PILF structures; (4) resonantly enhanced nonlinear optical chromophores; (5) synthetic strategies for production of novel high-temperature-stable, resonantly-enhanced EO polyimides during Phase II; and (6) high level design of a particular PILF device to be built during Phase II.