PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT FOR POLYMER WAVE-GUIDE-TYPE OPTICAL ISOLATOR -A PULSED OPTICAL ISOLATOR OPERATION IN POLY(L-MENTHYLMETHACRYLATE BENZYLMETHACRYLATE) COPOLYMER SLAB WAVE-GUIDE/

A copolymer of l-menthylmethacrylate (MtMA) and benzylmethacrylate (Bz MA), poly(MtMA/BzMA) was synthesized to construct a polymer slab waveg uide-type optical isolator operating in the blue wavelength region. Th is isolator is based on the simultaneously occuring reciprocal and non reciprocal TE-TM mode conversions in a three-layered slab waveguide wh ich consists of the poly(MtMA/BzMA) copolymer core on a fused quartz s ubstrate. When a high magnetic field of about 18 kOe was applied to a device with a core thickness of 4.5 mu m and a 5 cm propagation length , a pulsed optical isolator operation with an isolation ratio of appro ximately 15 dB was obtained at a wavelength of 441.6 nm, for the first time.