Mechanism that governs the electro-optic response of second-order nonlinear polymers on silicon substrates

Abstract

We use a modified Teng-Man technique to investigate the poling induced electro-optic activity of chromophore-doped organic polymers poled on silicon substrate in a thin film sample configuration. We reveal a fundamental difference between the poling processes on silicon substrate and ITO substrate. The electro-optic activity for polymers poled on silicon substrate is reduced which we ascribe to space charge formation at the silicon - organic interface that distorts the field distribution in the polymer film during high field poling, and therefore limits the effective induced polar order. We demonstrate that the electro-optic activity on silicon substrate can be improved by inserting a 5 nm thin dielectric layer of Al2O3 between the silicon substrate and the polymer which reduces the leak-through current during poling, thereby allowing for higher applicable poling voltages.