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Technology Stocks : Frank Coluccio Technology Forum - ASAP -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (1338)	4/7/2000 3:58:00 PM
From: Curtis E. Bemis	Respond to of 1782

Here's the abstract and reference-- Low (Sub-1-Volt) Halfwave Voltage Polymeric Electro-optic Modulators Achieved by Controlling Chromophore Shape Yongqiang Shi, 1 Cheng Zhang, 2 Hua Zhang, 3 James H. Bechtel, 1 Larry R. Dalton, 24 Bruce H. Robinson, 4 William H. Steier 3 Electro-optic (EO) modulators encode electrical signals onto fiber optic transmissions. High drive voltages limit gain and noise levels. Typical polymeric and lithium niobate modulators operate with halfwave voltages of 5 volts. Sterically modified organic chromophores have been used to reduce the attenuation of electric field poling-induced electro-optic activity caused by strong intermolecular electrostatic interactions. Such modified chromophores, incorporated into polymer hosts, were used to fabricate EO modulators with halfwave voltages of 0.8 volts (at a telecommunications wavelength of 1318 nanometers) and to achieve a halfwave voltage-interaction length product of 2.2 volt-centimeters. Optical push-pull poling and driving were also used to reduce halfwave voltage. This study, together with recent demonstrations of exceptional bandwidths (more than 110 gigahertz) and ease of integration (with very large scale integration semiconductor circuitry and ultra-low-loss passive optical circuitry) demonstrates the potential of polymeric materials for next generation telecommunications, information processing, and radio frequency distribution. 1 TACAN Corporation, 2330 Faraday Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92008, USA. 2 Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. 3 Center for Photonic Technologies, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. 4 Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 288, Number 5463 Issue of 7 Apr 2000, pp. 119 - 122 ¸2000 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (1338)	4/7/2000 7:15:00 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1782

Frank, Here is another link to another story about the so-called opto-chip. wired.com From the Seattle P-I story: "Chromophores are large organic molecules with an electrical charge that allows them to capture and direct the behavior of photons...The problem was the chromophones wouldn't remain aligned in the polymer..Robinson proposed they attach "ballast" molecules around the linear chromophones to give them a spherical shape. Using an electrical field to line them up while being embedded in the polymer, the spherical shapes helped them stay in line. With the improved alignment, the team was able to achieve high speed and low voltage." Most modulators are currently made of crystal. Polymer should make manufacturing easier. The "team has demonstrated that you can translate from the electrical to the optical realms using very low voltage with very high efficiency."