Figures of merit of nonlinear optical chromophores in photorefractive polymers

A pre-requisite to obtain polymers with a large photorefractive response is to design non-linear optical chromophores with a large figure of merit. This figure depends on the glass transition temperature of the material. We present a theoretical investigation that shows which are the important molecular parameters that control the magnitude of the figure of merit either in a low-Tg or in a high-Tg polymer. Derivation of the figures of merit for various push-pull molecules show a molecular engineering strategy can be successfully implemented to yield very large figures of merit. This approach is supported by an experimental investigation based on electro-optical absorption measurements.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.