Abstract

The most popular method for measuring the electro-optic properties of poled polymer films is known as the attenuated total reflection technique.^1-3 Almost all the methods based on this technique are to measure the synchronous angles and the variations of tire guided models so as to calculate the EO coefficients of the thin film. However, the synchronous angles of guided modes are strong functions of both the refractive index and the thickness of a given waveguide. In other words, the synchronous angles of guided modes are very sensitive not only to the film index, but also to the film thickness. As a result, the unknown piezoelectric coefficients of a polymer film waveguide will certainly lead to unknown errors for measuring the EO coefficients of the film. This is because the measured quantity is not only due to the pure electro-optic effect of poled polymer, but to the piezoelectric effect as well.

© 1996 Optical Society of America