ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews recent progress in the development and use of polyimides for photonic applications. It focuses on active electro-optic (EO) switching applications, which are not served well by existing glass fiber-optic technology. The chapter describes the physical basis for attaining EO modulation and the advantages of polymers over competing materials for this purpose. It discusses the use of polymers in photonic applications involving highly integrated EO devices. In these applications, the properties of polyimides are expected to favor their use over inorganic glasses or lower temperature polymers. Some polar molecules crystallize in noncentrosymmetric space groups, resulting in active crystals that have been used for frequency-doubling applications. Organic crystals are widely regarded as impractical for electrooptic applications, however, due to the difficulties involved in manufacture and integration with larger device systems. Polyimides have been widely used in the electronic industry as coating materials due to their exceptional thermal and environmental stability.
