This paper describes the properties and applications of some recent polymers in the field of electro-optics. We describe the properties of polyacrylates copolymer with a pending group with large hyperpolarizability. These amorphous copolymers show high optical nonlinear coefficients after poling under an electric field. We have used these copolymers for the manufacture of an electro-optic modulator working at 1.3 micrometers at a frequency of 1 GHz. We also look at the nonlinear absorption of the C₆₀ fullerene for applications in the field of optical limiting. Finally, we deal with ferroelectric polymers and their pyroelectric properties. We describe the realization and performance of an IR pyroelectric sensor using copolymers of poly(vinylidene fluoride-ethylene trifluoride).

Date Published: 16 December 1993
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 2025, Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Materials VI, (16 December 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.165286

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2025:
Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Materials VI
Gustaaf R. Moehlmann, Editor(s)