Recent advances in polymer electro-optic polymers and in fabrication techni
ques have made possible advances in polymer optical guided wave devices whi
ch bring them much closer to system ready. The processing of a new thermal
set FTC polymer and its incorporation into a high-frequency, low-V-pi optic
al amplitude modulator are reviewed. The design and fabrication of 100 GHz
modulators and their integration with rectangular metal waveguides using an
anti-podal finline transition with a flexible Mylar substrate is discussed
. High-speed polymer modulators with balanced outputs and the in situ trimm
ing of the output coupler is described. More complex guided wave devices us
ing polymers are demonstrated by the photonic rf phase shifter. Techniques
for integrating both passive and active polymers into the same optical circ
uit without the need for mode matching is presented and demonstrated. To re
duce the V-pi of a polymer amplitude modulator to 1 V or under, a technique
of constant-bias voltage is demonstrated. Finally, a technique to directly
laser write electro-optic polymer devices is reviewed. (C) 1999 Elsevier S
cience B.V. All rights reserved.