NOVEL FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMERS FOR ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE APPLICATIONS

The objective of this work is to develop novel high polar order, high chromophore density, thermally robust ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers for electro-optic device applications. The second-order nonlinear optical property of a polymer is a combination of three factors: the number density, the molecular hyperpolarizability, and the polar order of the chromophore assembly. Most of the previous effects concentrated on incorporating highly active chromophores into isotropic polymer matrix. In this proposal, TACAN Corporation and its collaborator at the University of Dayton propose a different synthetic approach to optimize both number density and polar order of the chromophore assembly. The proposed liquid crystalline polymer system will also incorporate crosslinking sites for materials hardening and high thermal stability. A successful material development will result in an up to 5-fold enhancement of nonlinearity when compared with a poled isotropic polymer. The highly active chromophores can be readily incorporated into the optimized polymer system for further enhancement. Material synthesis schemes and characterization methods are presented in this Phase I feasibility study. All the research results, during Phase I, will contribute directly to the scaled up synthesis, further material test, and electro-optic device fabrication in Phase II and future commercialization.