Electrostatic self-assembly processes for noncentrosymmetric thin films and devices

The electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) method of creating multifunctional, multi-component thin films layer by layer has proven to yield noncentrosymmetric structures that possess large second order nonlinear responses. The nature of the deposition process results in an alignment of the NLO chromophores that is stable over time, in contrast to poled polymers. ESA nonlinear optical thin films offer the additional major advantages of excellent homogeneity for low scattering loss, high thermal and chemical stability, simplicity of fabrication and low cost. The polar ordering of molecules that occurs due to the inherent nature of the ESA process suggests that a number of NLO thin films may be synthesized using both standard chromophore dyes and molecules specifically designed to yield an enhanced macro-scale net dipole moment. Consequently, we have designed and synthesized several new NLO polymers and fabricated noncentrosymmetric thin-films using the ESA process. These novel polymer films exhibit substantial chi(2) values as well as uniform growth and exceptional film ordering.