Guest-host polymer fibers for nonlinear optics

Abstract

We report on the fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nonlinear optical fibers with dye‐doped cores. The dye‐doped cores have an elevated refractive index that defines a waveguiding region with a large third‐order susceptibility and with single‐mode dimensions. The measured third‐order susceptibility of a squarylium‐doped PMMA film material and the measured optical loss of the dye‐doped fiber core results in a figure of merit that is suitable for all‐optical device applications at λ=1.3 μm. The impact of further improvements in PMMA loss and chromophore nonlinearity are also discussed.