Project Title:

Synthesis of Highly Nonlinear Optical Ferroelectric Liquid

Displaytech, Inc.
2200 Central Ave.
Boulder, C0 80301

93-1-04     06   8933

Synthesis of Highly Nonlinear Optical Ferroelectric Liquid
Crystal Polymers

Abstract:

New Materials possessing fast nonlinear optical (NLO)
susceptibilities, in particular materials with high second order
nonlinearity chi squared, are greatly needed in the emerging
photonics industry. The chi squared NLO materials in use today
are large, high quality inorganic crystals, which have the
disadvantages of being expensive, shock-sensitive, and difficult
to pattern. We herein propose to develop inexpensive,
shock-stable, easily patterned organic NL0 materials. These
materials will have high hyper-polarizability in conjunction with
very high thermodynamically stable order. These materials will be
ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs), a unique form of matter
which is admirably suited for optical applications such as NLO.
The FLCs will be incorporated into a polymer, which can freeze
into a glass form, thereby giving highly ordered, temperature
stable NLO materials. We believe that, using monomers developed
in the Boulder group, that we might achieve NLO materials with
deff twenty-five times that of lithium niobate.

Beam steering, optical switches, optical interconnects, second
harmonic generation of near infrared radiation, photorefractive
gratings.

Non-linear optics, FLC, ferroelectric liquid crystals, polymers,
elastomers, second harmonic generation