FABRICATION OF A NOVEL ELECTROOPTICAL INTENSITY MODULATOR FROM THE CONJUGATED POLYMER, POLY(2,5-DIMETHOXY-P-PHENYLENE VINYLENE)

We report an electro-optic absorption modulator based around a metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor structure in which the active semiconductor is the polymer poly(2,5-dimethoxy-p-phenylene vinylene). It incorporates a single optical waveguide formed by the polymer, insulator, and a polyimide top layer which is ribbed to define the guide laterally. Charge injection creates polaron and bipolaron states which change the subgap absorption between 2 and 1.4 mum and between 800 nm and the band edge at 600 nm.