Synthesis and Electrooptic Characterization of a Novel Highly Active Indoline Nitroazobenzene Methacrylate Copolymer

A novel methacrylate copolymer was synthesized, and the electrooptic activity of poled thin films was measured. The electrooptically active group was an indoline nitroazobenzene chromophore which was incorporated as a side-chain pendant on a methacrylate backbone. Thin film electrooptical devices were fabricated and the chromophores aligned through thermal electrical poling. Electrooptical coefficient measurements revealed that high-field poled samples exhibited high nonlinear optical activity and that at electrical poling fields of 190 V/μm. electrooptic coefficients of up to 42 pm/V were obtained at 1.3 μm.