SYNTHESIS AND NON-RESONANT NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF PUSH-PULL SIDE-CHAIN AZOBENZENE POLYMERS

In this work, we report preliminary results obtained for methacrylic polymers incorporating azobenzene side-group as nonlinear optical (NLO) active molecule. The trans-cis isomerization properties are discussed. The third-order non-resonant nonlinear refractive index (n2) and nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) are measured using the Z-scan technique at 1064 nm in the picosecond regime. The influence of different electron-acceptor groups in azobenzene moieties on the nonlinear properties is investigated.