Fluorinated styrene- and carbazole-based cladding polymer layers for EO and NLO polymer devices

Abstract

Novel polymer cladding materials were synthesized and their potential for use in optical waveguide devices was investigated. 9-[2-(2,3,5,6 -Tetrafluoro-4-vinylphenoxy) ethyl] -9H-carbazole and 1-pentafluorophenylpyrrole-2,5-dione were used as comonomers for preparing the acrylic cladding copolymers. These showed a low resistivity (approximate to 2 x 10(13) Omega.cm) at room temperature and a low optical loss (-0.6 dB cm(-1)) at a wavelength of 1.55 mu m. The refractive indexes and the glass transition temperatures of the polymer cladding materials can be controlled by the composition of the copolymers. The resulting polymers are good candidates for cladding materials for practical applications in devices. [GRAPHICS]