Nonlinear optic polymer core - conductive polymer clad optoelectronic device

A scheme for a five volt V pi nonlinear optical (NLO) polymer optoelectronic (OE) device is presented with the potential to realize an interaction length that is about an order of magnitude shorter than conventional five volt V pi NLO polymer OE devices. It utilizes available NLO polymer materials for the core layer and a conductive polymer material for the cladding layers. Since the cladding layer material is more conductive than the core material, most of the applied poling and modulation voltages is dropped across the core layer, rendering a more efficient device. Using an NLO polymer material with electrooptic (EO) coefficients of say 22 pm/V, it is feasible to demonstrate < 2 mm OE devices operating at TTL voltage levels. These small device sizes could lead to use within electronic multichip modules (MCM's). In addition, since the majority of the poling voltage is dropped across the core layer, less voltage is required so that in-situ poling becomes possible.