High speed electro-optical devices

• Research unit: COST
• Project number: C98.0086

Key words (English)

electro-optic modulation; high-speed data manipulation; poled polymers

Research programs (English)

COST-Action P2 - Application on non-linear optical phenomena

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

A, B, CZ, DK, F, D, GR, H, IRL, I, NL, PL, RO, E, S, CH, GB

Abstract (English)

The working group High-speed electro-optic devices (project 6) was part of the working group 2 Integrated optics and fibers within the COST P2 Action Applications of Nonlinear Optical Phenomena. The aim of this project was the development of novel materials and new device concepts for electro-optic modulators and switches. Furthermore prototype devices based on these novel materials/concepts should be realized.In present day- and future networks data are generated in the electric domain, in addition control functions for establishing connections, setting routes, and healing possible failures are originating mostly from electronic computers. The interface between electronic and optical domain therefore needs special attention. At high speed direct modulation of the light sources is increasingly difficult and introduces penalties due to chirping and external electro-optic modulators therefore are needed.The current electro-optic modulators use mainly the inorganic crystal LiNbO3 with an electro-optic coefficient of 30pm/V and a 40 GHz bandwidth. In contrast to expensive LiNbO3 waveguide technology electro-optic polymer modulators are very cost effective and have made huge progress during the last few years. During this project period this area of research progressed in many ways. One of the most exciting examples is the demonstration of half-wave voltages for electro-optic modulation below one Volt (Y. Shi, C. Zhang, H. Zhang, J. H. Bechtel, L. R. Dalton, B. H. Robinson, and W. H. Steier, Science 288, 119 (2000)). This has to be compared with the current LiNbO3-based technology with roughly 5 V half-wave voltage. It is even projected that half-wave voltages down to the mV level might be feasible in the future. However, for polymeric electro-optic devices to be commercially used there are still a number of challenges that have to be faced. Within this project the most important ones (e.g. increase of modulation efficiency, improvement of photostability, development of novel device concepts that specifically take advantage of the properties of polymers) were addressed and promising solutions for some of them obtained.This strongly multidisciplinary project ranging from materials science to application engineering involved research groups all over Europe. It was very successful and lead to the EU-IST project Next generation active integrated optic subsystems (NAIS) that could be started in September 2001.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: COST-DB of the State Secretariat for Education and Research Hallwylstrasse 4 CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland Tel. [phone] Swiss Project-Number: C98.0086