Microwave characterization of electro-optic polymers

Electro-optic polymer thin-films were characterized at microwave frequencies, for possible applications in GHz modulators. Single layers of the polymers were spin coated on low loss magnesium oxide substrates for characterizing the polymers at microwave frequencies. Coplanar waveguide test structures were designed for evaluation of the relative dielectric permittivity as well as the loss-tangent of the polymers at microwave frequencies. A conformal mapping technique was used for the extraction of relative dielectric constant of the polymer films based on the microwave scattering parameter measurements. As an example, a DR1-PMMA polymer had a relative dielectric permittivity of 3.01 and a loss-tangent of 0.075 at 8 GHz. The design of the test structures, the procedure for the accurate determination of the dielectric permittivity and the loss-tangent of the polymer films are discussed in this paper.