Pyroelectric polymers for nonlinear optics

Abstract A new class of materials, denoted Pyroelectric Liquid Crystal Polymers (PLCP), is described in this work. It is a polymer which is thermodynamically stable, intrinsically polar and suitable for second-order nonlinear optics. It is made by photochemical crosslinking of ferroelectric or antiferroelectric low molar mass liquid crystals. A number of different monomer and polymer materials are described in terms of their physical properties and second-harmonic generation. Their long-term properties and future development are discussed.