Systematic study of the structure-property relationship of a series of near-infrared absorbing push-pull heptamethine chromophores for electro-optics

This study reports the facile synthesis,characterization and quantitative structure-property relationship analysis of molecular and material properties of tricyanofuran-based(TCF)dipolar heptamethines with different electron donors of indoline(F1),benzo[e]-indoline(F2),benz[cd]indoline(F3),and Michler’s base derivatives(Ml and M2).The linear and nonlinear optical(NLO)properties of these chromophores have been thoroughly investigated,and the relationship between molecular and bulk response has been analyzed and compared with dipolar tetraene AJLZ53 as one of the best chromophores for electro-optic(EO)devices.In particular,we provide responsible data collection and analysis of optical and EO properties for poled thin films using a widelyrecognized and accredited methodology of prism coupling system with the help of rigid oriented gas model.We found that these push-pull heptamethines with synthetic efficacy exhibit high near-infrared absorption,excellent chemical stability and large hyperpolarizabilities(β)varied from 1,023×10^-30 esu for F1,3,047×10^-30 esu for M1,and 3,547×10^-30 esu for F3 at 1,304 nm in poled films,respectively.Theβvalues of these molecules are among the highest ones for TCF-based dipolar chromophores,and also agree well with reported analytical results in the solutions.In poled polymers with a modest chromophoric loading density of1.3×10^20 cm^-3,Ml and M2 give a high poled-induced noncentrosymmetric order and relatively large r33 values around40 pm V^-1 at 1,304 nm,indicative of largeμβvalues and suitable structural modification for high poling efficiency.Furthermore,a binary EO polymer based on the co-loading of Ml and AJLZ53 achieve a large r33 value of 143.3 pm V^-1 at 1,304 nm.Our studies suggest that concise synthesis and molecular design of push-pull polymethines can be well guided by the tabulation of their linear and NLO properties in bulk materials,and streamline future development of high performance organic EO materials for photonic applications.

High-power electro-optic switch technology based on novel transparent ceramic

A novel high-power polarization-independent electro-optic switch technology based on a reciprocal structtire Sagnac interferometer and a transparent quadratic electro-optic ceramic is proposed and analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The electro-optic ceramic is used as a phase retarder for the clockwise and counter-clockwise polarized light, and their po- larization directions are adjusted to their orthogonal positions by using two half-wave plates. The output light then becomes polarization-independent with respect to the polarization direction of the input light. The switch characteristics, including splitter ratios and polarization states, are theoretically analyzed and simulated in detail by the matrix multiplication method. An experimental setup is built to verify the analysis and experimental results. A new component ceramic is used and a non- polarizing cube beam splitter （NPBS） replaces the beam splitter （BS） to lower the ON/OFF voltage to 305 V and improve the extinction ratio by 2 dB. Finally, the laser-induced damage threshold for the proposed switch is measured and discussed. It is believed that potential applications of this novel polarization-independent electro-optic switch technology will be wide, especially for ultrafast high-power laser systems.

Electro-optical properties cholesteric liquid of polymer stabilized crystal film＊

Liquid crystals （LCs） and polymers are extensively used in various electro-optical applications. In this paper, normal mode polymer stabilized cholesteric LC film is prepared and studied. The effects of chiral dopant and monomer concentrations on the electro-optical properties, such as contrast ratio, driving voltage, hysteresis width and response time, are investigated. The reasons of electro-optical properties influenced by the concentrations of the materials are discussed. Through the proper material recipe, the electro-optical properties of polymer stabilized cholesteric LC film can be optimized.

Investigation of the mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser by polarized electroluminescence

The mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a P-I-N InGaAs/GaAs/A1GaAs vertical-cavity surface- emitting laser （VCSEL） has been studied by polarized electroluminescence （EL） at room temperature. The polarized EL spectra with E｜｜[110] and E ｜｜ [150] directions, are extracted for different injected currents. The mode splitting of the two orthogonal polarized modes for a VCSEL device is determined, and its value increases linearly with the increasing injected current due to electro-optic birefringence; This article demonstrates that the polarized EL is a powerful tool to study the mode splitting and polarization anisotropy of a VCSEL device.

Organic electro-optic polymer materials and organic-based hybrid electro-optic modulators

High performance electro-optic modulator,as the key device of integrated ultra-wideband optical systems,have be-come the focus of research.Meanwhile,the organic-based hybrid electro-optic modulators,which make full use of the advant-ages of organic electro-optic(OEO)materials(e.g.high electro-optic coefficient,fast response speed,high bandwidth,easy pro-cessing/integration and low cost)have attracted considerable attention.In this paper,we introduce a series of high-perform-ance OEO materials that exhibit good properties in electro-optic activity and thermal stability.In addition,the recent progress of organic-based hybrid electro-optic devices is reviewed,including photonic crystal-organic hybrid(PCOH),silicon-organic hy-brid(SOH)and plasmonic-organic hybrid(POH)modulators.A high-performance integrated optical platform based on OEO ma-terials is a promising solution for growing high speeds and low power consumption in compact sizes.

Recent progress in integrated electro-optic frequency comb generation

Optical frequency combs have emerged as an important tool enabling diverse applications from test-and-measurement,including spectroscopy,metrology,precision distance measurement,sensing,as well as optical and microwave waveform synthesis,signal processing,and communications.Several techniques exist to generate optical frequency combs,such as mode-locked lasers,Kerr micro-resonators,and electro-optic modulation.Important characteristics of optical frequency combs include the number of comb lines,their spacing,spectral shape and/or flatness,and intensity noise.While mode-locked lasers and Kerr micro-resonators can be used to obtain a large number of comb lines compared to electro-optic modulation,the latter provides increased flexibility in tuning the comb spacing.For some applications in optical communications and microwave photonics,a high degree of integration may be more desirable over a very large number of comb lines.In this paper,we review recent progress on integrated electro-optic frequency comb generators,including those based on indium phosphide,lithium niobate,and silicon photonics.

Experimental study of electro-optical-switched pulsed Nd:YAG laser

We report the specification of a compact and stable side diode-pumped Q-switched pulsed Nd：YAG laser. We ex- perimentally study and compare the performance of the pulsed Nd：YAG laser in the free-running and Q-switched modes at different pulse repetition rates from 1 Hz to 100 Hz. The laser output energy is stabilized by using a special configu- ration of the optical resonator. In this laser, an unsymmetrical concave-concave resonator is used and this structure helps the mode volume to be nearly fixed when the pulse repetition rate is increased. According to the experimental results in the Q-switched operation, the laser output energy is nearly constant around 70 mJ with an FWHM pulse width of 7 ns at 100 Hz. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency in the Q-switched regime is 17.5%.

Electro-optical properties of high birefringence liquid crystal compounds with isothiocyanate and naphthyl group

Liquid crystal（LC） compound with isothiocyanate and naphthyl group is an attractive high birefringence LC material,and can be used in optical devices. In this paper, the electro-optical properties of a series of this type of LC compounds were investigated. The melting points and enthalpy values of these LC compounds were higher than those of corresponding compounds with the phenyl group. These compounds exhibited high birefringence with a maximum value of 0.66. Fluorine substitution in the molecular almost does not affect the birefringence value. When these LC compounds with the naphthyl group were dissolved in a commercial LC mixture, the electro-optical properties depending on temperature were investigated. In the low-temperature region, LC mixtures with the naphthyl-group LC compounds exhibited higher viscosity than pure commercial LCs. In the high-temperature region, viscosity values very closely approached each other. When response performance was investigated, figure-of-merit（FoM） values were measured. The Fo M values of LC mixtures containing LC compounds with naphthyl group were lower than those of reference benzene LCs in the low-temperature region. However, in the high-temperature region, the results were reversed. These isothiocyanate LC compounds with naphthyl group can be applied in special fast-response LC device, particularly the ones used under high-temperature conditions.

Electro-Optical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes Obtained by High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this work, we studied the electro-optical properties of high-aligned carbon nanotubes deposited at room temperature. For this, we used the High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition system. This system uses a new concept of plasma generation: a planar coil is coupled to an RF system for plasma generation. This was used together with an electrostatic shield, for plasma densification, thereby obtaining high-density plasmas. The carbon nanotubes were deposited using pure methane plasmas. Three methods were used for the surface modification of the sample: reference substrate (silicon wafer only submitted to a chemical cleaning), silicon wafer with surface roughness generated by plasma etching, silicon wafer with a thin iron film and silicon wafer with diamond nano powder used as precursor materials. For each kind of silicon wafer surface, the carbon nanotubes were deposited with two different deposition times (two and three hours). The carbon nanotubes structural characteristics were analyzed by Atomic Force Microscope and Scanning Electronic Microscope. The carbon nanotubes electrical characteristics were observed by Raman Spectroscopy and the carbon nanotubes electro-optical properties were analyzed by current vs voltage electrical measurements and photo-luminescence spectroscopy measurements. The photoelectric effect in the carbon nanotubes were determined by photo-induced current measurements. In this work, we obtained carbon nanotubes with semiconductor properties and carbon nanotubes with metallic properties. The electro-optical effects depend strongly on the substrate preparation and the deposition parameters of the carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotubes are high aligned and show singular properties that can be used for many applications.

Preparation and Microstructural,Structural,Optical and Electro-Optical Properties of La Doped Pmn-Pt Transparent Ceramics

Transparent relaxor ferroelectric ceramics of the system lanthanum modified lead magnesium niobate have been investigated for a variety of electro-optic properties could make these materials alternatives to (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3. However, a study that relates the properties in function stoichiometric formula, it has not been analyzed heretofore. Therefore, in this work the effect of A-site substitution of La+3 in the characterization microstructural, structural, optical and electro-optical on (1-x)[Pb(1-3/2y)Lay(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]-xPbTiO3 and (1-z)[(1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3+xPbTiO3]+zLa2O3 has been performed. It was observed that the properties according to the stoichiometric formula and the PT had a maximum whose behavior was related to the addition of lanthanum in each stoichiometries.

Measurement of Frequency Shift Characteristics Based on LiNbO_3 Waveguide Electro-Optic Intensity Modulator

High-speed and wide-band LiNbO3 waveguide electro-optic intensity modulator has drawn great attention in the field of optical fiber communication and sensor. This paper reports the research results on the measurement of frequency shift characteristics of Mach-Zehnder electro-optic intensity modulator. Two measurement methods of frequency shift characteristics for high and low frequency modulations are studied in theory and experiment and demonstrate different results. The realization of a multi-wavelength optical source based on Mach-Zehnder electro-optic intensity modulator has been introduced. The technique to reach the maximum intensity for interesting shift frequency, particularly for heterodyne detection of Brillouin distributed optical fiber sensing, has been given.

Electro-optic Properties of DR1 Doped SiO_2 Organic/inorganic Guest-host Films

We made a comprehensive investigation on the electro-optic（EO） properties of hybrid sol-gel silica film doped with Dispersed Red 1 dye（DR1/SiO2）. An important finding is that the dipoles which don＇t orient along the direction of corona poling field in the films can be instantaneously poled by alternate modulation electrical field. This instant poling effect results in the EO coefficients dependent on the frequency and intensity of alternate modulation electric field, and some experiments have proved it. We also investigated the electro-optic coefficients and thickness of films at different stir temperatures（Ts） of start solution and at different number densities of DR1. Experimentally the DR1 number density was optimized to an order of 1021/cm^3 and a large EO coefficient of γ33= 37 pm/V for DR1/SiO2 film was measured by simple reflection technique at 1 kHz frequencies of modulation electric field. These findings may benefit the practical application of DR1/SiO2 films in the field of EO modulator and EO probing.

Analysis of electro-optical intensity modulator for bunch arrival-time monitor at SXFEL

A bunch arrival-time monitor(BAM) based on an electro-optical intensity modulation scheme is currently under development at Shanghai Soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser to meet the high-resolution requirements for bunch stability. The BAM uses a radio frequency signal generated by a pickup cavity to modulate the reference laser pulses in an electro-optical intensity modulator(EOM), and the bunch arrival-time information is derived from the amplitude change of the laser pulse after laser pulse modulation.EOM is a key optical component in the BAM system.Through the basic principle analysis of BAM, many parameters of the EOM are observed to affect the measurement resolution of the BAM system. Therefore, a systematic analysis of the EOM is crucial. In this paper, we present two schemes to compare and analyze an EOM and provide a reference for selecting a new version of the EOM.

High-speed 2 × 2 silicon-based electro-optic switch with nanosecond switch time

A 2 × 2 electro-optic switch is experimentally demonstrated using the optical structure of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer （MZI） based on a submicron rib waveguide and the electrical structure of a PIN diode on silicon-on-insulator （SOI）. The switch behaviour is achieved through the plasma dispersion effect of silicon. The device has a modulation arm of 1 mm in length and cross-section of 400 nm×340 nm. The measurement results show that the switch has a VπLπ figure of merit of 0.145 V.cm and the extinction ratios of two output ports and cross talk are 40 dB, 28 dB and -28 dB, respectively. A 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 90 MHz and a switch time of 6.8 ns for the rise edge and 2.7 ns for the fall edge are also demonstrated.

Low-power electro-optic phase modulator based on multilayer graphene/silicon nitride waveguide

Electro-optic modulator is a key component for on-chip optical signal processing.An electro-optic phase modulator based on multilayer graphene embedded in silicon nitride waveguide is demonstrated to fulfill low-power operation.Finite element method is adopted to investigate the interaction enhancement between the graphene flake and the optical mode.The impact of multilayer graphene on the performance of phase modulator is studied comprehensively.Simulation results show that the modulation efficiency improves with the increment of graphene layer number,as well as the modulation length.The 3-dB bandwidth of around 48 GHz is independent of graphene layer number and length.Compared to modulator with two-or four-layer graphene,the six-layer graphene/silicon nitride waveguide modulator can realizeπphase shift at a low-power consumption of 14 fJ/bit when the modulation length is 240μm.

Electro-optical dual modulation on resistive switching behavior in BaTiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2 heterojunction

The novel BaTiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2 multilayer heterojunction is prepared on a fluorine-doped tinoxide(FTO) substrate by the sol–gel method. The results indicate that the Pt/Ba TiO3/BiFeO3/TiO2/FTO heterojunction exhibits stable bipolar resistive switching characteristic, good retention performance, and reversal characteristic. Under different pulse voltages and light fields, four stable resistance states can also be realized. The analysis shows that the main conduction mechanism of the resistive switching characteristic of the heterojunction is space charge limited current(SCLC) effect. After the comprehensive analysis of the band diagram and the P–E ferroelectric property of the multilayer heterojunction, we can deduce that the SCLC is formed by the effect of the oxygen vacancy which is controlled by ferroelectric polarizationmodulated change of interfacial barrier. And the effective photo-generated carrier also plays a regulatory role in resistance state(RS), which is formed by the double ferroelectric layer Ba TiO3/BiFeO3 under different light fields. This research is of potential application values for developing the multi-state non-volatile resistance random access memory(RRAM) devices based on ferroelectric materials.

Electro-optical properties and(E,F) phase diagram of fluorinated chiral smectic liquid crystals

Fluorinated smectic liquid crystals each with a biphenyl benzoate rigid core are investigated. Molecular structures of the studied compounds have difference only in fluorine position and the length of the carbon chain. Dielectric relaxation study and electro-optical measurements are carried out with the classical SSFLC geometry. The field-induced phase transitions are studied and the（E,T） phase diagram is established.

Magneto and Electro-Optic Intensity Modulator Based on Liquid Crystal and Magnetic Fluid Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber

We propose a novel light intensity modulator based on magnetic fluid and liquid crystal（LC） filled photonic crystal fibers（PCFs）. The influences of electric and magnetic fields on the transmission intensity are theoretically and experimentally analyzed and investigated. Both the electric and magnetic fields can manipulate the molecular arrangement of LC to array a certain angle without changing the refractive index of the LC. Therefore, light loss in the PCF varies with the electric and magnetic fields whereas the peak wavelengths remain constant. The experimental results show that the transmission intensity decreases with the increase of the electric and magnetic fields. The cut-off electric field is 0.899 V/um at 20 Hz and the cut-off magnetic field is 195 m T. This simple and compacted optical modulator will have a great prospect in sensing applications.

Design optimization of a hexapod vibration isolation system for electro-optical payload

The electro-optical payloads on mobile platforms generally suffer undesirable vibrations generated by maneuvers and turbulence.These vibrations are in six degrees of freedom and cause line-of-sight jitters,resulting in image blurring and loss of tracking accuracy.In this paper,a Hexapod Vibration Isolation System(HVIS)is proposed and optimized to solve this problem.The optimization aims to centralize and minimize the natural frequencies of HVIS,for expanding the vibration isolation bandwidth and improving the vibration isolation in the higher frequency band.Considering that the design space for HVIS is limited and interfered with the frames of the mobile platform,a non-collision algorithm is proposed and applied in the optimization to obtain the feasible optimal design.The optimization result shows that the natural frequency bandwidth has been reduced by 42.9%,and the maximum natural frequency is reduced by 30.2%.The prototypes of initial and optimal designs are manufactured and tested.Both simulated and experimental results demonstrate the validity of the optimization,and the optimal design provides a maximum of 15 dB more isolation in rotation direction than the initial design.

Simulation design of thin film lithium niobate electro-optic modulator with bimetallic layer electrodes

Thin-film lithium niobate electro-optical modulator will become the key device in the future optical communication,which has the advantages of high modulation rate,low half-wave voltage,large bandwidth,and easy integration compared with conventional bulk lithium niobate modulator.However,because the electrode gap of the lithium niobate film modulator is very narrow,when the microwave frequency gets higher,it leads to higher microwave loss,and the electro-optical performance of the modulator will be greatly reduced.Here,we propose a thin film lithium niobate electro-optic modulator with a bimetallic layer electrode structure to achieve microwave loss less than 8 dB/cm in the range of 200 GHz,exhibiting a voltage-length product of 1.1 V·cm and a 3 dB electro-optic bandwidth greater than 160 GHz.High-speed data transmission test has been performed,showing good performance.