Long term stability of a poled side-chain nonlinear optical polymer

A side-chain nonlinear optical polymer consisting of copolymers of 4-methylamino-4'-nitrostilbene and methacrylate was poled and shown to be orientationally stable for almost 8 yrs. At approximately 110 degrees C below its glass transition, its electrooptic coefficient was reduced by less than 25% of its initial value. In addition, adding an annealing step during the poling process further improved its orientational stability. These behaviors are consistent with existing empirical models describing poling relaxation of nonlinear optical polymers, and demonstrate that with appropriate molecular design, they can become viable nonlinear optical materials for commercial devices. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.