Abstract:

We report second harmonic generation studies of an amorphous polymer (polymethylmethacrylate) containing hyperpolarizable dye species poled in an in-plane geometry where the electrodes are thinner than the polymer film. It is found that polymers poled in this geometry exhibit optical nonlinearity both parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the poling field. It is determined that charge injection into the film is responsible for the nonlinearity in the perpendicular direction. This nonlinearity is much stronger than that predicted solely on the basis of dipole moment -- poling field interactions.

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