PROCESSIBLE AND THERMALLY STABLE HETEROCYCLIC POLYMERS FOR 2ND-ORDER NONLINEAR-OPTICAL STUDIES

Following up on our preliminary communication, we present in this pape r a novel approach to synthesize processible, cross-linkable, and ther mally stable heterocyclic polymers (poly-oxazolidones) with nonlinear optical properties. A cross-linkable NLO chromophore was synthesized a nd transformed into a prepolymer, which was easy to process and cross- link. After being efficiently poled and cured, the optical-quality fil ms exhibited good nonlinearity and thermal stability. The stable, hard ened lattice resulted from the formation of the heterocyclic ring. The details of synthesizing the cross-linked (trifunctional) and un-cross linked (difunctional) heterocyclic polymers are presented. The effects of the processing conditions on the NLO properties are described. d(3 3) coefficients of 77 and 85 pm/V at the 1.06 mu m fundamental wavelen gth for the cross-linked and un-cross-linked polymers were obtained, r espectively.