Organic nonlinear optical materials and their device applications

Abstract

Summary form only given. The prospects for practical utilization of organic nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are reviewed and results on the synthesis and characterization of several families of nonlinear molecular chromophores, on intracavity second harmonic generation using an organic crystal, and on high-frequency electrooptic modulation using organic crystals and poled polymers are reported. The work with nonlinear chromophores has included the synthesis and molecular hyperpolarizability β measurement of a variety of nitroaniline, benzene, and nitropyridine derivatives with the aim of understanding the effect of combinations of aromatic ring types and substituents on β. In a recent set of experiments with crystals of the organic nonlinear material DAN (4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-3-acetamidonitobenzene), CW intracavity doubling of an optically pumped Nd:YAG laser was observed. In experiments aimed at demonstrating high-frequency electrooptic phase modulation with organic NLO materials, a modulation index of 0.014 was achieved in a crystal of MNMA (2-Me-4-nitro-N-methylaniline) at a drive frequency of 400 MHz.