A novel lattice-hardening process to achieve highly efficient and thermally stable nonlinear optical polymers

High poling efficiency of a thermoplastic can be achieved while maintain thermal stability of a densely cross-linked polymer through the novel Diels-Alder lattice-hardening process. Thus, the resultant materials exhibit large r33 values and good temporal stability at 85 °C. Furthermore, it allows to fine-tune processing temperature and reversibility of these Diels-Alder reactions to optimize thermal stability and processability by modifying the electronic properties of the cross-linking reagents.