MULTIFUNCTIONAL POLYMERS AS MULTI-ROLE MATERIALS FOR PHOTONICS

Multifunctional polymers can play multi-roles such as laser light sour ce, passive interconnects, optical signal processing and optical data storage in the development of photonics technology. In this paper, two approaches to achieve nanostructure control to introduce multifunctio nality at both molecular and bulk levels are presented. A novel concep t of multiphasic nanostructured composites is discussed. Various appli cations of a specific multifunctional property introduced by strong tw o-photon absorption and efficient fluorescence are presented. The comb ined action of these two functions produces upconverted emission. Spec ific applications discussed are upconversion lasing, optical data stor age, confocal microscopy, and photodynamic therapy.