Optimization of organic NLO materials for integration with silicon photonic, plasmonic (metal optics), and metamaterial devices

Abstract

Specific spatially-anisotropic interactions are identified that enhance noncentrosymmetric order required for electro-optic activity. Enhancement of electric-field-poling-induced noncentrosymmetric order by these specific interactions is shown to result from a reduction of lattice dimensionality from three to two dimensions. New analytical techniques for measurement of centrosymmetric and noncentrosymmetric order and lattice dimensionality are introduced. Measurement of order parameters is correlated with viscoelastic data to gain further insight into the influence of specific interactions on poling efficiency and thus material electro-optic activity. The integration of organic electro-optic materials into silicon photonic, plasmonic, and metamaterial devices is also discussed. These device structures can affect the "effective" optical nonlinearity of organic materials but care must be exercised to control optical loss. © 2011 Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).