Second-harmonic generation in reactive-ion etched N ' ethyl N-ethanol-4-(nitrophenylazo)phenylamino polymer waveguides at telecommunication wavelengths

Second-harmonic generation using modal dispersion phase matching has been d emonstrated in reactive-ion etched waveguides based on the organic nonlinea r polymer poly (methyl methacrylate)-Disperse Red 1 [N' ethyl N-ethanol-4-( nitrophenylazo)phenylamino]. The measured propagation losses were 6 dB/cm a t the fundamental and 10 dB/cm at the second-harmonic wavelength, dramatica lly less than we obtained previously for the harmonic in photobleached wave guides. A figure of merit of eta=0.1%/W for second-harmonic generation was obtained with a modest nonlinearity of 3 pm/V at 1607 nm in a 2 mm long wav eguide. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)06318-5].