Planar waveguides of PPV derivatives: attenuation loss, third-harmonic generation and photostability

Abstract We studied MEH-PPV and MEH-PPB which are derivatives of poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), synthesized via the so-called HORNER-polycondensation route. The residual sub-bandgap absorptions of MEH-PPV were found to be extremely low at λ⩾1064 nm as compared to other PPVs. We attribute this fact to its very low defect density. MEH-PPV enables the fabrication of slab waveguides with propagation losses which are well below 1 dB/cm at 1064 nm. Comparative studies of the cubic nonlinearity χ(3), the photodegradation and the damage thresholds at 1064 nm of PPV, MEH-PPV and MEH-PPB demonstrate that polycondensation-type MEH-PPV has the greatest potential for the realization of nonlinear optical waveguide applications.