Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Menton, France, 26-31 August, 1999

Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Molecules and Crystals, Volume 1 discusses the nonlinear optical effects in organic molecules and crystals, providing a classical distinction between quadratic and cubic processes. This book begins with a general overview of the basic properties of organic matter, followed by a review on the benefits derived from quantum-chemistry-based models and growth and characterization of high quality, bulk organic crystals and waveguided structures. A case study focusing on a specific material, namely urea, which exemplifies a situation in which transparency in the UV region has been purposely traded for nonlinear efficiency is also deliberated. This text concludes with a description of a type of trade-off between the unpredictable orientation of molecules in crystalline media, polarity of liquid-crystalline structures, and dominant electronic contribution to the electro-optic effect. This publication is beneficial to solid-state physicists and chemists concerned with nonlinear optical properties of organic molecules and crystals.

This book assembles both theory and application in this field, to interest experimentalists and theoreticians alike. Part 1 is concerned with the theory and computing of non-linear optical (NLO) properties while Part 2 reviews the latest developments in experimentation. This book will be invaluable to researchers and students in academia and industry, particularlrly to anyone involved in materials science, theoretical and computational chemistry, chemical physics, and molecular physics.

The field of nonlinear optics emerged three decades ago with the development of the first operating laser and the demonstration of frequency doubling phenomena. These milestone discoveries not only generated much interest in laser science, but also set the stage for future work on nonlinear optics. This book presents an excellent overview of the exciting new advances in nonlinear optical (NLO) materials and their applications in emerging photonics technologies. It is the first reference source available to cover every NLO material published through 1995. All theoretical approaches, measurement techniques, materials, technologies, and applications are covered. With more than 1,800 bibliographic citations, 324 figures, 218 tables, and 812 equations, this book is an invaluable reference source for graduate and undergraduate students, researchers, scientists and engineers working in academia and industries in chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, optical and polymer engineering, and computational science.