Abstract

As nonlinear optical polymeric materials begin to enter the market in e.g. electro-optic modulators, stability issues become more and more important. Whereas the orientational stability of poled polymer systems has been studied extensively over the last decade, the photochemical stability of the chromophore dopants in the polymers under working conditions has not been investigated until recently [1]. These measurements revealed that estimated device lifetimes are not yet suitable for practical applications. Therefore chromophores with high nonlinearities and sufficient photochemical stability have to be identified.

© 2000 IEEE