Lightwave transmission of multiple television signals using an organic polymer electro-optic Phase modulator

Phase modulation and optical heterodyne detection were used to transmit and receive six cable television signals at 832 nm using a new polymeric electro-optic material. The electro-optic slab waveguide layer of the phase modulator consisted of a spin-coated, amorphous polyimide film doped with a nonlinear chromophore which had been poled in an electric field. The cladding layers, which confined the optical field within the waveguide, were composed of a photo-crosslinked acrylic polymer. Our television transmission system serves as a stringent test of the utility of the electro-optic polymer for lightwave data transmission.