Photoconducting nonlinear optical polymers

Photoconductivity and third order optical nonlinearity measurements on a dye doped photocrosslinkable nonlinear optical (NLO) polymer -- PVCN (polyvinylcinnamate)/CNNB-R (3-cinnamoyloxy-4-[4-(N,N-diethylamino)-2-cinnamoyloxy phenylazo] nitrobenzene) are presented. Photoconductivity was measured in this polymer system, in both photocrosslinked and uncrosslinked states, without introducing any photosensitizer and photocharge transport agents. Absorption of CNNB-R, peaked at 518 nm, leads to photocharge generation and it is conjectured that CNNB-R also plays a role in the photocharge transport. Additionally, no phase segregation was observed with CNNB-R concentration up to 33wt%. Large quadratic electro-optic coefficients were measured at 633 nm with a modified Michelson interferometer at different CNNB-R concentrations.