Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Organic electro-optic materials afford the realization of devices with terahertz bandwidths, providing bandwidths are not limited by resistive losses in metal electrodes. Recent realization of electro-optic coefficients (at telecommunication wavelengths) on the order of 200 pm/V permits construction of devices with operating voltage requirements of 1 volt or less. In like manner, substantial progress has been made in both understanding and improving thermal and photostability suggesting that organic electro-optic materials can meet Telacordia standards. However, one of the most intriguing advances afforded by organic materials is their processability including the ability to be integrated with diverse materials. This communication discusses both the systematic improvement, by theoretically-inspired rational design, of relevant material properties and the development of a variety of new processing methodologies, including soft lithography methods, for the fabrication of stripline, cascaded prism, and ring microresonator devices. The fabrication of flexible devices is also discussed.