Charge Injection Induced Optical Nonlinearity of ‘In-Plane’ Poled Polymer Films : Effects of Host Polymer, Substrate and Electrodes

Abstract

‘In plane’ poling of polymer films containing hyperpolarizable dye molecules can lead to large optical nonlinearities along a direction perpendicular to that of the applied field. The magnitude of this nonlinearity depends on the polymer host, substrate and electrode metal. After removal of the field, decay of the nonlinearity also varies considerably from host to host. Measurement of the current flow during poling is consistent with a model for formation of the perpendicular nonlinearity via charge injection from the electrodes, diffusion into the bulk polymer and charging of the dye.

Key Words:

• Polymers
• poling
• nonlinear optics