Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals for Nonlinear Optics: Orientation of the Disperse Red 1 Chromophore along the Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Polar Axis

摘要

Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) are a unique state of matter possessing excellent processibility on silicon integrated circuits and a thermodynamically stable polar supermolecular structure. FLC thin films thus show great potential as the activeorganic component of fast integrated electro-optic (EO) modulators. In order to realize this promise, however, FLCs with improved electronic second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) susceptibility X~((2)) are required, since known materials possess X~((2)) values too small to be useful in this application. Herein we describe a new class of FLCs wherein for the first time the prototypical NLO chromophore p-nitro-p'-(dialkylamino)-azobenzene (the chromophore found in the NLO dye disperse red 1 (DR1)) is oriented along the polar-axis. These results demonstrate that creation of FLC films with large X~((2)) should be possible.