Thin films of arylenevinylene oligomers prepared by MAPLE for applications in non-linear optics

This paper discusses two arylenevinylene oligomers with optical nonlinear properties. Their trans molecular structure was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Second Harmonic Generation and two-photon fluorescence have been observed on Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation-deposited thin films. We have seen two local maxima in UV-Vis spectra and a red shift of the photoluminescence peak for carbazole-based oligomer, which can be correlated with a higher conformational flexibility and with strong polarization interactions in the solid state. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy images have revealed a grainy morphology of the film deposited on titanium and a higher roughness for carbazole-based oligomer. Second harmonic measurements have shown nearly equal values of the second-order nonlinear optical coefficient for the triphenylamine and carbazole-based oligomers for P-laser < 100 mW. z-Scan and x-scan representations of the carbazole-based oligomer film have shown strong two-photon fluorescence intensity inside the sample confirming a volume process, and a strong second harmonic at the surface of the sample determined by the surface morphology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.