Abstract

Picosecond, chirped-pulse technology is used to generate spectrally separate (Δ = 16 Ǻ), time-synchronized pulses for non-resonant χ⁽³⁾ measurements near 1053 nm by nearly-degenerate four-wave mixing. This background-free technique is applied to eight newly synthesized monomeric liquid-crystal structures based on naphthyl cores and alkylphenyl moieties linked by ester or tolane linkages. The design of these compounds permits a systematic study of the role of electron delocalization pathways in determining the magnitude of χ⁽³⁾ in such organic systems. Measured χ⁽³⁾ values are normalized to χ⁽³⁾ of CS₂. The advantages of liquid-crystalline macroscopic order in device fabrication from these promising compounds are discussed.

© 1990 Optical Society of America