Synthesis and characterization of maleic anhydride derived crosslinkable polymers for nonlinear optical applications

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of maleate type crosslinkable nonlinear optical (NLO) polymers derived from maleic anhydride and fumaryl chloride is described. Preliminary results demonstrated this is a convenient, inexpensive, and versatile method of fabricating crosslinked NLO polymer thin films. These maleate type polyesters containing NLO chromophores such as Disperse Red 1 9 are capable of crosslinking to form a hardened lattice under either thermal or highenergy radiation conditions. Crosslinking is a critical nano-scale technique for second order nonlinear optical as well as other potential photonic applications where molecular orientations need to be aligned and be stabilized against molecular thermal motions. Photolithographic techniques may be readily employed in this system to fabricate patterned polymer waveguide.