Nonlinear prism coupling of waveguides of the conjugated polymer MEH-PPV and their figures of merit for all-optical switching

We used intensity-dependent prism coupling of poly [2-methoxy- 5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) waveguides to measure the nonlinear absorption coefficients and nonlinear refractive indices of these waveguides in the range 700-1200 nm, The material's strong nonlinearity combined with low linear waveguide losses (<1 dB/cm) led to promising figures of merit and have made it attractive for use in all-optical switching applications at wavelengths of >1150 mn. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America