Polymer Processing for All-Optical Device Fabrication

We have achieved our research goal to study the effect of polymer processing and composition on fabricability and performance of all-optical switching devices and optical amplifier devices. In the process, we have developed a deeper understanding of the linear and nonlinear properties of materials and how they affect device performance. The 6 major efforts completed in this program include 1 interferometric measurements of the intensity dependent refractive index in single-mode polymer optical fibers that demonstrates switching, 2 loss, scattering, fluorescence and two photon absorption measurements based on a new transverse excitation technique that was invented in our lab, 3 refractive index profiling measurement techniques developed in our lab to characterized preforms and fibers, 4 third-order susceptibility studies aimed at understanding the nonlinearity mechanisms in dye-doped polymers, 5 demonstration of dual-core single-mode fiber with nonlinear coupling switching, and 6 demonstration of fibers with electrodes.