Electrically induced transmissivity modulation in polymeric thin film Fabry-Perot etalons

We report the observation of electrically induced changes in transmissivity in Fabry-Perot devices consisting of spin-cast azo-dye/polymer films deposited between gold mirrors. In poled samples the observed modulation shows a linear dependence on the applied modulating voltage. The ratio of the transmissivity modulation observed using incident transverse magnetic polarization to that observed using transverse electric polarization is used to demonstrate that the electrooptic effect dominates the modulation. This is, to our knowledge, the first reported use of a polymeric thin film linear electrooptic material in a Fabry-Perot structure and demonstrates the use of etalons to enhance electrooptic effects in very thin films.