Single-pulse ultraviolet laser recording of periodically poled structures in polymer thin films

A simple fabrication technique for nonlinear polymeric optical waveguide pa tterns is introduced based on the two-beam interference method. We determin ed that the second-order nonlinearity of poled polymer films is erased by s ingle-pulse ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation. The erasure mechanism for s econd-order nonlinearity is discussed. To form a periodic structure in an o ptical polymer waveguide, two types of optical configuration of two-beam in terference were arranged, and a single-pulse UV laser was exposed directly onto poled films. We prove that this method provides a simple way to fabric ate volume-type and ridge-type periodically poled structures, i.e., chi((2) ) gratings, from the submicrometer to the millimeter range. (C) 2000 Optica l Society of America.