Photoassisted poling induced second harmonic generation with in-plane anisotropy in azobenzene containing polymer films

Photoassisted poling of azobenzene containing polymer films at room temperature using polarized Ar+ laser beam as pump light was studied. Irradiating the films with p-polarized pump light at an incident angle to the normal during the poling process,second harmonic generation with in-plane anisotropy could be induced. Second order nonlinear optical coefficient, d(33), of the poled sample was measured to be 20 pm/V. The second harmonic generation properties induced by photoassisted poling and thermal assisted poling were compared. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.