Photoinduced Orientation and Some of Its Photonic Consequences in Amorphous Azo-Containing Polymers.

Abstract

Photoinduced birefringence, surface gratings inscription and two-beam coupling properties are investigated on a series of amorphous high-Tg azo-containing polymers. For photoinduced birefringence, a neighboring group effect was observed, and dipolar interaction is demonstrated to be the main factor determining cooperative motion of side groups below Tg. Surface gratings can act as optical couplers into waveguides on the polymer films. Asymmetrical (photorefractive) and two-beam coupling due to multiwave mixing can be exploited for switching elements. In principle, a whole photonic device can be envisaged on simple polymer film and obtained by optical inscription.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 28, 1996
Accession Number
ADA306700

Entities

People

  • Almeria L. Natansohn
  • Paula A. Rochon

Organizations

  • Queen's University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Azobenzenes
  • Birefringence
  • Chemistry
  • Couplings
  • Electric Fields
  • Engineering
  • Films
  • Materials
  • Military Research
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Photonic Devices
  • Polymeric Films
  • Polymers
  • Switching
  • United States Government
  • Universities
  • Waveguides

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Polymer Science and Technology