NONLINEAR OPTICAL MATERIAL, NONLINEAR OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR FORMING THE SAME

摘要

PURPOSE:To provide a nonlinear optical material and nonlinear optical waveguide element with the waveguide shape of optimum design formed easily and precisely as designed, capable of efficiently confining light and hence capable of producing secondary and tertiary optical effects. CONSTITUTION:A nonlinear optical material contg. a photochromic compd. in a nonlinear optical substance is applied on a substrate to form a thin film. A pattern consisting of a section in which the photoisomerizable photochromic compd. is predominantly distributed and a section in which the non- photoisomerizable photochromic compd. is predominantly distributed is formed on the thin film, a nonlinear optical waveguide element obtained by forming a nonlinear optical waveguide in the section in which the photoisomerizable compd. is predominantly distributed and the thin film are irradiated with a patterned light to photoisomerize the photochromic compd. contained in the material, and a nonlinear optical waveguide element having a nonlinear optical waveguide is formed in the irradiated section.