Abstract

In a previous work, using computational approaches, we analyzed how the polarizability, α, second-order polarizability, β, and third-order polarizability, γ, are controled by the ground state polarization [1-4]. To do so, we investigated the influence of an external, static electric field upon the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, for a set of push-pull polyenes [1]. The calculated effect of the external electric field on the molecular structure and electronic properties of the chromophores is similar to that resulting from donor-acceptor substituents on a segment of the chromophore, or from changing the dielectric properties of the environment around the molecule, e.g., increasing the polarity of the solvent. The structure/properties relationships derived from that study are summarized in Figure 1, and have allowed us to propose chemical design prescriptions for the optimization of second- and third-order optical nonlinearities in organic molecules [3].

© 1995 Optical Society of America