<title>Electro-optic polymers for optical interconnects</title>

Abstract

Glassy nonlinear optical polymers can be processed into channel waveguides. When poled, the channels become electrooptic and can switch and modulate light. Using lithographic and machining techniques familiar to the chip industry, it should be possible to integrate large numbers of electrooptic switches into a board-level package or module, and thus provide the additional benefits of active switching and reconfiguration to passive hybrid optical interconnect modules. Some of the properties of the materials, some process methods, and potential applications in optical interconnection are described.