POLYMER-FILMS OF J-AGGREGATED CYANINE DYES AND METAL-CLUSTERS FOR NONLINEAR-OPTICAL APPLICATIONS

A new medium with non-linear optical properties, comprising J-aggregat es of cyanine dyes entrapped in a polymer matrix is reported. Pseudois ocyanine and benzothiazolium dyes with C2H5 and C18H37 chains were syn thesized; Langmuir-Blodgett and polymer films of these dyes were prepa red. The temperature stability of the J-aggregates in films was invest igated by optical spectroscopy. J-Aggregates in polymer films display a higher thermal stability than those in Langmuir-Blodgett films and c an be used in non-linear susceptibility experiments. The cubic suscept ibility of the films was measured by four-wave mixing and found to be 0.8 x 10(-7) cm(3) erg(-1) for the degenerate case, Upon addition of m etal clusters to the J-aggregate-polymer composite, an increase by a f actor of > 30 in the susceptibility was observed.