Optical nonlinear organic thin films and electro-optically tunable arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) multiplexor

This dissertation combines second-order optical nonlinear organic thin films and electro-optically tunable arrayed waveguide grating multiplexor. The first section (Chapters 1, 2, 3) describes the research for optical nonlinearities in organic systems which can be used in optical sensor and high speed photonic applications. Second-order nonlinear optical polymeric thin film fabrication and characterization are presented. Theoretical background of optical nonlinear phenomena is reviewed. Optical nonlinearity of polymeric thin films is evaluated systematically using maker fringe technique. Channel waveguide fabrication using lithographic process is described. Physical characterization and optical modeling of polymeric channel waveguide are also investigated.; Second section of this dissertation (Chapters 4, 5, 6) presents the research for electro-optically tunable multiplexor/demultiplexor utilizing quadratic effect in folded arrayed waveguide grating (AWG). Research includes theoretical and experimental studies of third order nonlinear effect in silica waveguide. Calculation of channel spectral shift in AWG is presented. Experimental setup and comparison of theoretical and experimental results are also discussed. The proposed tunable AWG device enables one to fine tune an optical multiplexor/demultiplexor with fast response time and negligible power consumption.