A thermally stable crosslinked polymer network with large electrooptic coefficient

Abstract

Organic second-order nonlinear optical materials have been intensely pursued for the past two decades. Remarkable progress has been made in the design and synthesis of chromophores with exceptionally high-/spl mu//spl beta/ values. The superior nonlinearity, along with the inherent ultrafast response and large laser damage threshold, suggests that organic NLO materials are ideal for electro-optic and telecommunication applications. Here, we wish to report our preliminary progress in developing a crosslinked (XL) polymeric material containing a high-/spl mu//spl beta/ chromophore DHPT. At present, the largest electro-optic coefficient obtained from the polymer (20% loading by weight) is 27.5 pm/V (at 1.06 /spl mu/m).