Photoinduced Modifications of the Nonlinear Optical Response in Liquid Crystalline Azopolymers
By: by Raquel Alicante
Contributors: SpringerLink (Online service)
Series: Springer Theses, Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Imprint: Springer
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Berlin, Heidelberg
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Number of pages: 198
ISBN-13: 9783642317569
Subjects: Photonics Laser Technology; Thin Films Surfaces and Interfaces; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics Soft and Granular Matter; Surfaces (Physics); Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical materials; Physics; Thin Films Surface and Interface Science
Description: Nonlinear optical (NLO) phenomena such as frequency conversion have played a key role in the development of photonic technologies. This thesis reports a detailed study of the molecular response of a large variety of push-pull organic compounds using the Second Harmonic Generation technique, which will serve as a starting point for the investigation at the macroscopic scale of azobenzene-based liquid crystalline polymeric films and their blends with highly efficient NLO chromophores. These materials are designed with the aim of exploiting their photo-addressability in order to tailor their nonlinear behaviour. The magnitude and symmetry of their nonlinear response was successfully controlled via light irradiation and thermal treatments. Moreover, as a specific application, the recording of efficient NLO gratings was achieved and is described here.
Table of contents: title: Introduction and Basic Theory; title: Experimental Methods.- Nonlinear Optical Molecular Response; title: Piperazine Azopolymer Thin Films; title: Films of Doped Low Polar Azopolymers; title: Nonlinear Optical Gratings; title: General Conclusions; title: Appendices.