Surface Plasmons in Multiple Layer Structures and Their Uses as a Diagnostic Tool in Polymer Waveguides
Abstract
Polymer waveguides are very attractive in fibre optic communication systems and are beginning to invade the maket as integrated optic devices. Therefore techniques to investigate the optical properties of these polymers are very useful to monitor the quality and suggest procedure for better films. This thesis presents a method based on attenuated total reflection(ATR) to be used as a diagnostic tool for planar transparent polyimide waveguide. Very precise polyimide thickness measurements within 100A for films 1-2 μm thick were achieved and it was also shown that silver films' thickness could also be determined within an error of 2% of their value or less. The real part of a polymer film refractive index was measured with an absolute uncertainty of 0.001. The real part of the complex permittivity for silver was also measured within 5% error. The ATR technique was applied to stratified polymer structures and used as devices to produce switching and was shown to be successful in producing images of patterns useful in spatial light modulation(SLM). The same technique was used to detect air gap thickness about 3000A between an Ag film and a polymer sheet.
- Publication:
-
Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- 1994
- Bibcode:
- 1994PhDT.......262L
- Keywords:
-
- FIBRE OPTIC COMMUNICATIONS;
- ATTENUATED TOTAL REFLECTION;
- Physics: Optics; Engineering: Materials Science