Electric Field Poled Organic Electro-optic Materials: State of the Art and Future Prospects

Electric field poled organic electro-optic materials has been reported. Electro-optic activity has been increased to approximately 500 pm/V (in thin, electrically poled films) while keeping optical loss to less than 2 dB/cm and thermal stability (final material glass transition temperature) to greater than 200 °C. Organic electro-optic materials and devices also appear to afford superior advantages for airborne and space applications. ATR which is a prism coupling method that measures a change in the intensity of laser light reflected from the prism/EO film interface as a function of applied electric field. Improvements in photostabilities of EO materials have been achieved by various means, including modification of the structures of chromophores and polymer hosts, addition of physical singlet-oxygen quenchers, and device packaging. The sensitivity and specificity of the sensors depend on both the selection of sensor material and device design.