Novel Polymeric Composite Materials for Photonics

Abstract

Nonlinear optics is at the forefront of current research because of its vital role in optical processing of information for photonics. A polymeric composite structure offers the opportunity to optimize each necessary property independently to produce useful materials for photonics. This review paper presents investigation of nonlinear optical processes in novel glass phase composites, specifically a new class of inorganic oxide glass: organic polymer composites prepared by sol-gel processing. Stable electric field induced alignment has been achieved for second-order nonlinear optical effects such as second-harmonic generation and electro-optic modulation. In the inorganic glass:polymer composites, prepared for third-order nonlinear optical effects, the nonlinear optical response has been investigated using femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing, Kerr gate and transient absorption. Another exciting prospect is the use of these composites for photorefractivity which is produced by a combination of photoconductivity and electro-optic effect. Photorefractivity has been investigated by the study of photoconductivity, electro-optic modulation, electric field dependence of degenerate four-wave mixing and two-beam coupling.