Helical Biphenyl Bisazo Polyurethane: Preparation,Characterization and Analysis of Polymeric Thermo-Optic Switch

The bisazo chromophore molecule (CAAPM) and helical biphenyl bisazo polyurethane (HBBPU) were synthesized. The structures of CAAPM and HBBPU were characterized by FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopic techniques. The measurements of refractive index and thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT) of HBBPU were demonstrated at different wavelengths and different temperatures by the ATR technique. By using CCD digital imaging devices, transmission loss of the internal waveguide was measured. The refractive index dispersions and Sellmeyer coefficients of HBBPU were obtained by the Sellmeyer equation. A Y-branched switch based on the thermo-optic effect was proposed and the performance of the switch was simulated. With a branching angle of 0.143° and the FD-BPM method, the result showed that the power consumption of the thermo-optic switch could be only 3.6 mW, and the response time of the switch could reach about 8 ms. This is a significant improvement in reducing power consumption compared with the normal Y-branched polymer thermo-optic switch.