有機電気光学(EO)ポリマーは、無機材料を凌駕するEO効果と低い誘電率から、100GHzを超える超高速の光変調や低電圧駆動の高速光スイッチなどの光導波路デバイスへの応用が注目されている。また、有機EOポリマーの成膜では溶液プロセスを用いることから、積層や隙間への充填などが可能であるなど加工柔軟性に富むことも特徴であり、無機光回路とのハイブリッド化も期待されている。本講演では、我々が開発した高機能有機EOポリマーの特性と、それを用いた光変調器構造の作製プロセスについて詳細に報告する。

Polymeric electro-optic (EO) materials have attracted considerable attention because their large EO response and low dielectric constant enable optical modulators and switches to be operated with low driving voltage and ultra-high frequency exceeding 100GHz. Moreover hybridization with an inorganic optical circuit is also attracted. However, because of several problems such as solvent resistance and poling efficiency, practical devices have not been reported. We developed suitable polymer for device production with solvent resistance and stability while developing molecules which show the large EO effect. Although this organic EO polymer is soluble and spin-coatable, after the film forming, UV irradiation makes it resistive to the solvent. That enables us to make multilayered structures and three-dimensional EO devices. This paper reports the characteristic of the highly efficient organic EO polymer which we developed, and the production processes of optical modulator structure using it.