Organic nonlinear optical materials: where we have been and where we are going

摘要

Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials can be useful for a variety of applications varying from modulation of optical signals facilitated by the electro-optic effect- the effect whereby the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied electric field-to microfabrication,sensing,imaging,and cancer therapy facilitated by multiphoton absorption,wherein molecules simultaneously absorb two or more photons of light.This short Focus article is a brief personal perspective of some of the key advances in second-order NLO materials and in multiphoton-absorbing materials,and of how and why these advances have led to renewed interest in organic NLO materials.