Nanosecond response electro‐optic switch based on high cost‐effective poled polymeric material

Abstract

AbstractLow cost materials and fabrication techniques are requited for the high cost‐effective optical devices in the field of the optical communication. In this article, a polymer electro‐optic switch operating at 1550 nm has been designed and fabricated. Such a switch is based on a low‐cost guest‐host material by using Disperse Red 1 (DR1) as the guest and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the host. DR1/PMMA can be synthesized easily. An optimal waveguide structure has been proposed. With the coplanar waveguide electrodes and corona poling, a push–pull switch device is achieved. The switch rise time and fall time are 5 and 7 ns, respectively. The insertion loss of the device (3.7‐cm length) is less than 20 dB. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:1537–1541, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26839