Segmented electric field poling of Si3N4-polymer hybrid electro-optic waveguides

Electric field poling of electro-optic polymer (EOP) in hybrid waveguides is highly challenging due to the discontinuity in electric field distribution, which leads to a low Pockels electro-optic (EO) coefficient or dielectric breakdown.We propose the segmented poling technique in Si 3 N 4 /EOP hybrid waveguides to address this challenge.Dipolar chromophores near an electrode interface first align with a weak poling electric field, and then a strong field is applied for the chromophore alignment near the waveguide interface.This technique effectively avoids dielectric breakdown, and the tuning efficiency of the EO Mach-Zender interferometer (MZI) filters is improved from 31.7 pm/V to higher than 50 pm/V, with a highest Pockels coefficient of 114 pm/V.