Active organic-inorganic sol gel with high thermal stability for nonlinear optical applications

Second-harmonic generation and thermal stability of hybrid photosensitive sol-gel films doped with a side-chain electro-optic chromophore have been studied. Nonlinear optic coefficient d(33) has been derived for the cross-linked and noncross-linked sol-gel films. The d(33) of the cross-linked hybrid sol-gel film shows high stability at elevated temperature. No evident degradation in d(33) was observed at 110degreesC and only 20% of d(33) decayed in 15 min at 180degreesC. The results indicate that the film can meet the long-term stability requirement for optical components. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.