Assessment of Polymeric Materials for Nonlinear Optics

Abstract

Organic nonlinear optical (NLO) materials offer the advantages of high intrinsic figures of merit for a number of useful nonlinear optical processes, low dielectric constant, moderate required processing temperatures, and the ability to use molecular engineering to modify a host of secondary properties {1}. In polymer form, organic NLO materials have important advantages for fabrication of complicated multilayer optical waveguide structures on large, low cost substrates and offer the potential for integration with conventional electronics components {2}. In this talk, applications of polymeric NLO materials for frequency doubling, electro-optic modulation and switching, photorefraction, and photonic switching will be considered.