PHOTOINDUCED DIFFRACTION IN POLYMER WAVE-GUIDES

We report on techniques for measuring photoinduced diffraction in prism-coupled slab polymer waveguides. Diffraction effects resulting from photochromic gratings in slab waveguides of Disperse Red 1 dye in polymethylmethacrylate were studied. Optical damage in the form of diffractive mode conversion was observed when we coupled in light with a wavelength slightly longer than the absorption edge of Disperse Red 1 dye. Slowly growing satellite beams in the outcoupled light were attributed to anisotropic scattering between the lowest-order TE mode and the lowest-order TM mode caused by self-diffraction from a grating produced through the photochromic effect. We have also investigated the effect of made-coupling changes on the determination of diffraction efficiency and sensitivity in waveguide experiments. Diffraction efficiencies predicted by measurements of the modulation depth in the guide are found to overstate the actual diffraction efficiencies that could be observed in this geometry. Techniques for overcoming this limitation and for improving estimates of the energy density and interaction length in the guide are noted.