Photocross-linkable polymers for electro-optic applications

POLY 109

Brian K. Long, brianlong77@gmail.com, B. Keith Keitz, bkkeitz@gmail.com, R. Chad Webb, chadwebb@mail.utexas.edu, and C. Grant Willson, willson@che.utexas.edu. Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A5300, Austin, TX 78712
Abstract: Our laboratory is currently engaged in the design and development of photonic crystals comprised of organic elements with high electro-optic activity. Fabrication of these devices requires polymers that can be patterned at high resolution, have large second order nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficients, and that are thermally stable after poling. Our route to these materials involves the synthesis of a prepolymer that can be spin coated, poled, and then fixed by a photochemical cross-linking reaction. An early example of such a material was reported 15 years ago by Betterton et al. (Poly. Mater. Sci. Eng. 1992, 66, 312-13). We now describe an efficient synthetic route to a new class of biscross-linkable monomers and the characteristics of their corresponding prepolymers. The patterning of these materials by imprint lithography and the characterization of their nonlinearity will be reported elsewhere.