Abstract

Polymers with nonlinear optical chromophores¹ as guest molecules or side groups are of fundamental as well as practical interest. Macroscopic nonlinear optical properties are only found if the centrosymmetry in these glassy polymers is broken by means of a suitable dipole-orientation process. For sufficient stability, the dipole orientation must be frozen in by keeping the polymer at temperatures well below its glass-rubber transition. Usually, the dipoles are first oriented by means of poling in a strong electric field above the glass-transition temperature of the polymer and then locked in their angular positions during slow cooling. For poling selected areas only, patterned electrodes² must be used in that case because of the global heating.

© 1994 IEEE