Recent advances in organic electro-optic materials for ring micro-resonators and optical modulation

Recently developed organic electro-optic materials have demonstrated large increases in activity creating a drive towards utilizing organics in ring micro-resonators and modulators. These materials allow for extremely low drive voltages and fundamental response times within the terahertz region. Present synthetic efforts have efficiently incorporated molecules with large first molecular hyperpolarizabilities, β, into macromolecular systems producing unprecedented electro-optic coefficients, r33. Previously, incorporation of these large β molecules into macromolecular systems proved difficult due to phase separation or molecular aggregation within the processed films. Therefore, integration into workable devices was inconsistent and difficult. The new material systems however, have shown considerably enhanced film qualities, leading to improved device incorporation and fabrication. This paper will focus on current organic materials strategies and their incorporation into current ring micro-resonator devices and results.