This report discusses the use of the use of polymers instead of and in conjunction with, traditional platforms such as indium phosphide and ferroelectric ceramic lithium niobate. Critical comparisons are made between use of polymers and alternative. This review report gives an overview of all the elements of optical transmission and switching systems that are used in telecommunications and is a fully interdisciplinary account of materials and device design issues. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.

Poled polymers doped with nonlinear optically active chromophores combine the large second order nonlinearity of the dopant dye molecules with the optical quality of the polymer. The material design flexibility afforded to doped polymers makes them attractive in a large variety of devices and applications. This book addresses the critical science and technology issues in the development and application of poled polymers, with an emphasis on the stabilization of poled polymers and their special applications to second harmonic generation (SHG) and electro-optic (EO) devices.

This work brings together a selection of papers dealing with various aspects of organic nonlinear optical materials.