Previous studies on the radiation effects upon polymer and polymer-based photonic materials suggest that the radiation resistance of the material is heavily dependent on the choice of polymer-host and guest-chromophore. The best results to date have been achieved with electro optic polymeric materials based on CLD1 doped in APC, which has resulted in improved performance at the device level upon gamma-ray irradiation at moderate doses. Still, our understanding of the physical mechanisms behind the enhancement of the performance is unclear. In this paper, we discuss how polarized light microscopy could be used as a means to quantify the effect of the different physical parameters that influence the optical response of electro-optic polymeric thin film samples.

Date Published: 17 September 2014
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 9226, Nanophotonics and Macrophotonics for Space Environments VIII, 92260C (17 September 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2062453

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9226:
Nanophotonics and Macrophotonics for Space Environments VIII
Edward W. Taylor; David A. Cardimona, Editor(s)