Organosilicon Polymeric Nonlinear Optical Materials for Optical Switching and Modulation

There is a need for nonlinear optical materials which can be used in optical devices that operate in severe military environments. Most of the new organic material based optical materials that are poised to replace traditional inorganic materials in this area, due to their improved optical properties and ease of fabrication, are particularly deficient in the are of environmental stability, especially temporal stability of the nonlinear optical properties at higher temperatures. We propose to demonstrate new organosilicon systems with useful nonlinear optical properties. These materials will be fabricated into thin films and their optical properties will be studied. Preliminary studies of temporal stability, particularly at higher temperatures will also be made. The Phase II effort will seek to optimize these characteristics as well as overall optical and mechanical properties.